Harry Potter and the Burden of Becoming

Harry Potter and the Burden of Becoming

Chapter 62 - Crushing Defeat

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Even as he ran to catch Ron, Harry wondered what this feeling was inside him. He sensed it before the practice with the Magpies, and now... now he wasn't sure. His skin was clammy and he felt as if he'd just spun his broom in a roll about a dozen times. It wasn't the familiar ache; instead, every fiber of his being was screaming a warning from within. But, was it a warning about Voldemort, or just a warning to be careful? He'd been so sure a minute ago... but now, running across the field toward the mountains, the giants looming high above, he wasn't so confident. He was outpacing Hermione and still keeping Ron in view.

Coming across the knoll that looked down on the pitch and the back of the castle, Harry stopped and his jaw fell. He'd heard Hagrid tell stories of giants before, but seeing them, sitting at the pitch and still towering high above the wizards standing by them, he had to gawk.

"Bloody, hell," he gasped, even as Ron plunged headlong down toward stands.

Hagrid had described their height, and of course he'd seen Grawp, but Hagrid's descriptions and even Grawp's enormity didn't touch the massive beings down on the pitch. They were twice the size of a mountain troll, and yet it was their breadth that was most intimidating. They weren't fat, but rather a new definition of 'big boned' -- simply massive looking, as if they'd been chiseled from an enormous block of stone.

Ron was halfway down the knoll to the pitch, when Hermione came up to Harry's side. They were too late and Harry's stomach sank knowing what was about to happen. Together they watched as Professor Dumbledore stepped over to the six new wizards that had just arrived, and pointed toward Mr. Weasley by way of an introduction. The smallest of the three, at some twenty feet high, turned and spoke to the largest at over twenty-six feet. Arthur Weasley bowed politely as the larger giant stood.

"Dad!" Ron screamed, racing down onto the pitch. "Dad, it's a trap!" The wizards turned to see the young redhead barreling toward them, and in that moment Harry's head cleared and the nausea passed, as if a great boil had just been lanced.

"Oh, no," breathed Hermione. "Ron, no!" she screamed, and started running at full speed down the hill.

In the time it takes to wonder what you had for breakfast, the largest giant had Arthur Weasley about the waist in his hands and was turning to run. The scene reminded Harry of an old King Kong movie as everyone pulled their wands, but hesitated for fear of hitting the Minister.

"Dad!" Ron screamed again, now upon the group, his wand drawn, but the smallest giant turned, and with the flick of his hand struck Ron and sent him flying into one of the bonfires near Hermione. Harry heard the hiss of Ron's flesh as it struck hot embers, and listened as he screamed in pain. In a blink, Hermione had extinguished the flames and pulled him off the coals, but the screams continued.

In the same instant, the giants began to bound up toward the castle taking enormous strides. At that point, the wizards on the ground decided to take action, and a flurry of spells rained down on the backs of the three enormous beings. A sure strike by Dumbledore dropped one to the ground, but the smallest pressed on following the one holding Arthur Weasley, as it crashed directly into and through the castle walls.

"They've been charmed!" one of the Aurors bellowed below. "There's magic at work here!"

Glass shattered from the upper stories and the sounds of screams could be heard from the upper Ravenclaw dormitories. The castle's great stone wall began to shudder, as the ground rumbled and then there was a great crashing noise as the giants blasted through one interior wall after another. Harry looked back to the pitch to find the wizards taking chase on foot toward the castle, but they were too slow and well behind as the stones began to fall. Unable to Apparate on school grounds, the giants had the upper hand when it came to covering ground by foot.

Harry spun on his heels and ran, fast and hard, toward the front of the castle steps. There was another crash and he looked back over his shoulder to see the castle wall begin to collapse. It was the Ravenclaw tower and Harry was sure they had all been at the windows watching the meeting take place below. It had all happened so fast, they had no chance to pull away from the windows. There were more screams, and then shouts as about a dozen wizards levied their wands to hold the wall in place; it slowed, but still the wall fell, just as Dumbledore slipped beneath the falling stones, disappearing into the castle.

The ground shook again, nearly knocking Harry off his feet. Turning his back on the disaster behind him, he concentrated on the disaster he was sure to face up ahead. He readied his wand as he came around to the castle's front steps, stopped and waited. His breaths were hard and fast, almost keeping cadence to the crashes growing louder with each shudder of earth, each crumbling interior wall. He was ready when it happened.

The front doors, or rather the full front wall of Hogwarts' Castle, exploded outward sending rock and glass flying everywhere. Harry deflected the debris with a shielding spell as the smallest giant emerged, followed by the larger close on his heels. They were both covered in dust and rubble, and the smaller giant had a huge gash on his right arm that was spraying blood everywhere. Fortunately, perhaps, the larger giant still held the unconscious Mr. Weasley in his hands like a limp, bloodied rag-doll. The larger giant roared something Harry didn't understand and pointed toward the forest. The smaller giant nodded and started to run, but stopped short when he saw Harry standing in his way. The Gryffindor never felt so small in all his life, but he wasn't about to back down now.

Harry let fly a stunner that hit the smaller giant squarely in the chest; he took a step back and roared as if he'd been merely stung by a bee. Harry could feel its hot spit rain down on his face; the stench was tremendous. Again, he let fly a stunner, only this time he aimed lower, and this time the giant fell to his knees, revealing the larger giant from behind. He held up Mr. Weasley in his hands and gave him a short shake, and Harry knew at once it was a threat to kill him, if he wasn't already dead. Harry stepped closer; his hands began to tingle and his stomach turned. He somehow knew that this one at least was under Voldemort's control. Harry slipped his wand away, and held out his hands to offer surrender. The large giant smiled a yellowed, slime of a smile and took a step to go, kicking the smaller giant to get to his feet. He tumbled forward when Harry cupped his hands to his mouth.

"I am Harry Potter!" he cried out. "HARRY POTTER!"

Hearing the name, the giant stopped at once, and looked closely at the tiny wizard standing in his way. One giant looked at the other, then back at Harry, and then the smaller one nodded grumbling something Harry didn't understand, and moved to grab Harry in his bloodied arms, but Harry instantly brandished his wand, and he halted. Harry motioned to Mr. Weasley.

"Me for him!" he called in a slow, loud voice. "Potter for Weasley!"

Again the two giants conferred, this time speaking to each other with voices resonating like claps of thunder. There was another loud crash and more screams, as one of the interior floors collapsed inside the castle. The giant that was bleeding pointed to his arm and shook his head and that's when the larger one motioned for Harry to move closer. He pointed at Harry's wand, and Harry dropped it to the ground at his feet. A flash later, Mr. Weasley was on the ground, dropped from the giant's dangling hands some six feet off the ground, and Harry was in the giant's grasp racing toward the Forbidden Forest. The grip was tight, too tight -- it was impossible to breathe.

With each stride, he could see up over the giant's shoulder toward the castle. Nobody had seen Harry face the giants at the front door. Nobody was giving chase. A few students and a wizard or two found Mr. Weasley at the front steps of the castle. Someone started to make chase, but the castle rumbled, and he cast a spell to shield the Minister from the falling debris. Then, there was a red flash immediately followed by a tremendous yellow-white light that poured out from the castle windows; like a star being born, it was blinding. "Dumbledore," thought Harry, as the brilliance was soon obscured by branches of the forest. The last he could see, everyone was trying to save the castle; they had given up trying to capture the giants, and Harry was sure that had been the creatures' plan, or Voldemort's plan, all along.

He tried to pull short rasps of air into his lungs as the giant continued to hold him tightly, and with his lack of air his vision began to fail. He wondered if Voldemort would be happy or sad when the giants delivered a dead Harry Potter at his feet. He tried one last time to wriggle even a finger, but it was as if his body was encased in rock--nothing moved. There was something peaceful about knowing the end was near. He would be with his parents at last. Images of his life began to flash across his eyes. A cutting sense of concern for Ron made him wince with regret that he could not have been faster.

He was on his last breath, or wish for one, his head flopping loosely against the giant's thumb. All before him was darkness and he began to let go of the mortal realm. Suddenly, a blast of purple light filled the air and the smaller giant screamed in agony. There was another blast, and another, and another, all various colours, and the giant holding Harry loosened his grip. A blast of fresh air filled his lungs, just as it had when he plunged up from to the surface of the lake during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. His vision returned and to his surprise he saw but one wizard casting spell, after spell. The small giant was down, dead or unconscious, and the wizard's efforts were focused firmly on the giant holding Harry. Spell after spell struck with great precision, never hitting Harry, and ever loosening the grip the giant had on him. More air filled Harry's lungs, and he began searching his mind for things he could do to set himself free.

With Harry locked in his stony grip, the giant advanced toward the wizard that was casting spell after spell. His magic seemed to be taking its toll, but not just on the giant. Whoever was sending the streams of coloured jets out of their wand was growing weaker. The large giant stumbled forward and with a great sweep of his hand sent the wizard flying some twenty yards and into the trunk of a tree. There, he crumpled to the ground and did not move. The giant let out a deafening roar of triumph and went to check his companion. With his foot he kicked him over and when he did not respond, the large giant gave a short loud grunt, and started on his way.

The grip tightened once again, only this time Harry had time to think, remembering the one thing he held to advantage--the Heart of Asha. It had just been recharged, and just as it strengthened his ability to heal, it would strengthen his ability to kill. He closed his eyes and reached deep within.

"Bravery. Wisdom. Love," he whispered, and instantly he felt himself falling out of one reality and into another. "Show me," his mind commanded the darkness, and the veil opened up to an energy he was sure was the giant's. It was not as large as Harry expected, certainly not in keeping with the creatures physical stature, and was woven in yellow and red strands, spinning like a small cocoon on a thread. Harry willed himself closer and reached his hands toward the life force -- an energy he would take to save his own.

But just as his hands were about to take hold of the giant's energy in this other realm, a smell, or rather a stench, filled Harry's senses. In a place where no senses existed, it was an odd sensation and yet a familiar one. He reached with his own mind passed the giant's life force, and reached beyond, toward the reek. There, in a corner of nothingness, was a dull green glow. Harry moved toward it, the odor becoming unbearable. It was a tangle of dark, fibrous tentacles that weaved their way outward from a dull, dark-green glob.

"Voldemort," he thought, and he reached his hands toward the glow. It pulled back, but too late. Harry had the Imperius Curse in his fingers, and squeezed with all his might. It exploded like a filibuster firework sending sparklers everywhere in every imaginable colour, and then Harry let go of that reality and returned to the hand of the giant.

He felt as if he'd been kicked hard in the stomach and, when he opened his eyes, he found that they hadn't moved twenty yards from the smaller giant still motionless on the ground. The grip around Harry's chest loosened immediately and he gazed up to see the large giant looking down at him with a confused expression.

"Your friend," Harry called out, pointing at the other giant. "Let me help."

He wasn't sure if he was being understood, but the large giant opened his hand and let him loose onto the ground. Harry ran over to the severely wounded giant and again summoned the stone's ability to magnify his own powers to reach within the being's life force. After he poured himself out to heal the wounds, Harry reached beyond and again found and destroyed Voldemort's Imperius Curse. With the stone's energy draining, it took every ounce of will power, and when he pulled back to reality, his knees gave out from under him, and he fell to the ground. It was not nearly as bad as when he healed Lucius, but Harry knew he would be able to do little more.

The small giant sat up and said something to the large one who uttered something in return, and then the small giant turned to Harry and said in a large gruff voice, "Harry... Potter... Thank you."

"You speak English?" Harry asked, taking a deep breath, rising to unsteady feet. The small giant flashed him a stubby smile. Suddenly, Harry remembered the other wizard who had tried to save his life. He staggered over to the trunk of the tree where the cloaked wizard lay moaning on the ground. He pulled back the wizard's hood and discovered Draco Malfoy.

"D-Draco," Harry sputtered in amazement.

There was a thin smile on the blonde's face, as a trickle of blood dripped down from the corner of his mouth. He let out a short chuckle, and spat a weak cough. He did not look well.

"I thought I'd be saving an old redhead," he wheezed. "If I had known it was going to be you, I'd have stayed in the dungeons and been crushed in the castle."

"You knew? You knew!" Harry yelled. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Who says I didn't?" Draco let out another cough, and more blood spewed from his mouth, splattering Harry in the face and speckling his glasses.

Harry wasn't sure if he should strangle him on the spot, or save his life so he could strangle him later. The Gryffindor was already drained and he wasn't sure he could save Malfoy's life even if he wanted to. Still, he placed his hands on Malfoy's chest and closed his eyes. It was easy to see where the internal injury was. A small tear, not nearly as bad as Harry had feared. He reached out and stopped the bleeding that was filling Malfoy's lungs. But when he pulled back away and opened his eyes, he fell to the ground barely able to move. He had nothing left to give without risking his own life again.

"The castle," Harry whispered to Draco into the grass covering his face, "we have to save the castle."

"I-I can't be seen with you, Harry," Malfoy said in remorseful tone. "I'm sorry, I... I can't--" His words were cut short by a rumbling of the earth, but it wasn't the two giants next to them. They were sitting on the ground curiously watching the two wizards. Harry looked up to see Malfoy fade into the foliage. He reached out his hand.

"Wait," called Harry, but his hand fell weakly to his side as Draco disappeared into darkness.

The earth rumbled again and he felt himself being lifted from the ground, but by smaller hands this time. What happened next, he didn't know as a dull fog filled his head and all went black.

He woke to bright sunlight, the crackle of fire, a smell of smoke, and a wet tongue lapping at his face. Opening his eyes he found himself in Hagrid's cabin, Fang standing over him. There was a clang of pots and pans on the stovetop, and Harry turned to see who made the noise. He groaned when a familiar pain stabbed at his chest. His wound had been aggravated in the clutches of the giant, and when he looked down he found his chest was all bruised.

"Well, good mornin' to yeh, Harry," said Hagrid with a smile, setting a large iron skillet on the stovetop with a loud clang, and walking over to his side. "Madame Pomfrey said yeh might be tender fer a few days, but that's all. You'll be up an' flying before yeh know it."

Harry tried to sit up, but the pain was too much.

"Here," said Hagrid offering a stone mug, "take a sip."

Harry obliged and immediately felt a soothing sensation spread out across his chest. Finally, he could breathe properly and with Hagrid's help he sat up in bed.

"What... what about Ron, and Mr. Weasley?" he asked. "Where are they?"

"St. Mungo's," answered Hagrid. "They'll both be fine," he said, reassuring Harry's questioning eyes. "Hermione took care of Ron straight away, but the Minister almost didn't make it. He's tellin' everybody how yeh saved his life again."

"But he was unconscious; he didn't see anything."

"Oh, well, I guess it was me then that was tellin' everyone how yeh saved his life." Hagrid smiled broadly and roughed up the top of Harry's already tangled hair. He walked over and cracked an egg into the hot skillet, and it began to sizzle. The sound reminded Harry of Ron's flesh.

"Ron's okay?" he asked again. Hagrid let out a laugh.

"Do yeh know what he's been doin' the whole time at St. Mungo's? Askin' 'bout you. I tell yeh, there's been no closer friends at Hogwarts since James and S..." he stopped himself.

"You can say it, Hagrid," said Harry. "James and Sirius... the perfect friendship." There was a sour note in his tone, and then he rolled something over in his mind. "James and Lilly, the perfect marriage, and then young Harry was born... and ruined everything." He laid his head back to his pillow. "Everything," he repeated out loud. He expected Hagrid to jump in and say something, but all he heard was another egg crack, and fresh sizzle.

"Is the castle destroyed then, Hagrid?" he asked. And then, without waiting for an answer, an avalanche of words fell from his lips. "Because if it is, it's my fault, since Ron was looking for me, and if I'd have just stayed put, he wouldn't have been outside, and I wouldn't have gone looking for him and said his dad was going to be attacked by Voldemort, and he wouldn't have run off, and the castle would have still been--" he halted.

"What's that, Harry?" Hagrid asked with curiosity. "I coudn' hear yeh. The castle would a been what?" Harry knew the answer, of course. The giants would still have grabbed Mr. Weasley and carried him crashing through the castle; it had been their plan all along, or Voldemort's. The thought turned in his head.

"The giants!" he exclaimed. "They didn't hurt the giants did they? Because... Please tell me they didn't--" Suddenly, an enormous tremor shook the earth in answer to Harry's question. For a moment, the sun was blotted out, and the room grew dark, and as the rumble passed, the sunlight returned. "They're here? N-Now?" Harry sputtered.

"Come on, lad," said Hagrid with a smile as he set two plates on the table. "Let's see if yer legs are strong enough teh have a look." He helped Harry out of bed and to the door of his cabin. "You've got the best bed at Hogwarts right now." He swung the door open revealing row after row of tents along the field surrounding the lake. The air was cool against his face, and for the moment it felt refreshing, but he'd been camping in those tents before and was thankful he wasn't casting warming charms every fifteen minutes down by the thawing water.

"As soon as they're sure the tunnels are safe, they'll move everyone down," said Hagrid. "Probably tomorrow."

Harry's eyes turned to the pounding and rumbling noises up at the castle. To his amazement, one of the giants was helping to repair the front face of the castle wall.

"They're helping?" he asked in disbelief.

"When Gryffindor laid the foundation for the school, the giants were here teh help," said Hagrid proudly. "Those were different times, Harry, good times, and you've brought 'em back."

"Me?" asked Harry, not really sure that was a good thing.

Hagrid shut the door and brought Harry over to the table to eat. As he buttered his toast, he told of what had happened after he'd picked Harry off the ground.

"Well, it was just me an Grawpy, see, an' these two giants jes sittin' there scratchin' their heads not sure what teh do. So Grawpy asks 'em what happened, me not bein' good at giant speak an' all, and they start goin' on about Voldemort an' his Death Eaters, an' how they'd been plannin' on joinin' Dumbledore, but were captured comin' 'cross the sea. Grawpy knew 'em from the mountains and they hit it off right away. But when I asked 'em to follow us to the castle, they were none too keen on the idea. The little one told us, as best he could, what had happened, an' figured that the wizards had already killed his brother. But I told 'em it didn't matter what happened, cuz Dumbledore wouldn't kill nobody.

"Finally, I couldn' wait no longer, seein's how you were lookin' so bad. 'The Death Eaters will be waitin' for yeh that way,' I said to the little one pointin' teh the forest, 'or yeh can try yer luck at the hand of Dumbledore.' An' I started headin' to the castle with you in me arms. I gotta say it was a bit touch an' go there fer a minute as the four of us walked out of the Forest. The Ministry Aurors were ready to blast us all teh high heaven, till they saw I was holdin' you. Strange, but nobody seemed teh know you was missin'.

"We had a bit of a shoutin' match, an' shoutin' giants can be heard from pretty far away. Finally, Dumbledore came out of the castle, an' set things straight. Within minutes, we had Madame Pomfrey takin' care of yeh here in the cabin, the third giant back up on his feet an released from the Imperius Curse, an' everybody pitchin' in teh shore up the castle." The half-giant took a sip of his mug, and a look of pure satisfaction spread across his face.

"Harry, there's somethin' bout usin' yer hands together teh make somethin' grander than either of yeh could make alone that binds people as one." He set the mug down. "You-Know-Who thought he'd ruin our chances of an alliance, and kill the Minister in the process, but it's backfired on him. Who knows what would have happened if the dark beast hadn't interfered, but now... now his plans have been crushed like the stones being turned to mortar for the walls of Hogwarts." Hagrid stood and looked out the window, a grand smile beaming across his face.

"And yer right, Harry. It's all your fault!" He turned, laughed, and clapped his hands together. "Now eat yer eggs before I have Madame Pomfrey whip up a batch of her Invigorator Potion." Just the thought made Harry wince; if Skele-Gro tasted bad, Invigorator was pure poison. Quickly, he grabbed his fork and took a bite of eggs.

"Hagrid," said Harry with his mouth half full, "have you seen D- er, Malfoy?"

"Yeah, I seen the little brat. I hear he got banged up pretty good when the castle walls fell, but he's up walkin'. Probably jes puttin' on a show fer sympathy again." Hagrid waved his hands in the air and rolled his eyes. "Why do yeh ask? Yeh don' figure he had somethin' teh do with this do yeh?"

"Er... no reason," answered Harry, shrugging his shoulders. "He just popped into my mind is all."

Harry grabbed a slice of toast, took a bite, and wondered if, one day, he and Malfoy might build something together, side-by-side. Was it any more strange than the scene right now on the front steps of Hogwarts? Hagrid drew one eyebrow high in bewilderment shaking his head as he looked at Harry stare into space. The young wizard took a bite of eggs and shook his own head as he swallowed.

"No," he whispered, watching another shadow pass by Hagrid's window, "oil and water don't mix."