Harry Potter and the Crystalline Darkness

Chapter 3

When Harry woke the next morning, he opened his eyes to utter blackness. He blinked for a moment in surprise then the events of the previous night came back to him. Somewhere in the events of the dream, his Oversight had failed. He swore quietly under his breath and initiated it again. He breathed a small sigh of relief when the energy fields surrounding him sprang into life.

"How are you feeling, Mr Potter?"

Harry jumped and turned to look at the owner of the voice. Professor Snape was sitting in a chair next to his bed.

"Professor Snape!" Harry said in surprise. "Er, what are you doing here?"

Snape cocked his head and eyed the young man before him with interest. "I came here last night. Lupin and Black asked me to come and see if I could reach you."

Harry blinked. Oh yes, he remembered hearing Snape's voice now. He also remembered something about potions. "Oh! Er, thank you, sir."

Before Snape could reply, the door to the bedroom opened and Sirius walked in. He broke out into a broad smile when he saw that Harry was awake and rushed over to his godson.

"Harry! How are you feeling?"

Harry smiled. "I'm okay, Siri. I...feel a little embarrassed though."

"Embarrassed?" Sirius said with surprise. "Why embarrassed?"

"Well, I didn't mean to make a fuss." Harry gave a one-shouldered shrug.

Sirius was struck speechless for a moment. "Harry...it wasn't a fuss. You have nothing to be embarrassed about." He grabbed Harry gently by the shoulders and gave him a small shake. "You were having some kind of terrible vision. Of course we were worried." He let his godson go and ran a hand through his hair. "Harry, you mean everything to me and to Remus. Looking after you is not a fuss or a burden or a chore or anything like that. You are my godson, you are my family. Harry..." Sirius swallowed and seemed unable to articulate anything more.

Harry had been listening to Sirius' outburst with growing shock. In his experience, causing a fuss got you yelled at and locked up in a cupboard. While the yelled at part was still true, it wasn't quite what he was used to. This was yelled at in a good way, in a way that made Harry's heart swell and his throat close up.

"Siri..." Harry rasped and threw himself into his godfather's arms, his eyes tightly closed to stop the tears. He was still, even now, having trouble with the concept of people caring for him.

Sirius buried his face in his godson's hair and held him tightly. He heard a small scraping noise and looked up. He saw Snape's back disappearing out of the room and smiled; apparently even Snivellus had a sense of decorum.

After a few minutes, there was a small knock on the door and Remus stuck his head in. He smiled at the two sitting on the bed. Sirius looked up and smiled back at his friend. Harry pulled out of the hug and rubbed his eyes with one hand then crawled out of bed and walked over to the werewolf. When he threw himself into Remus' arms, the werewolf hugged him reflexively and gave Sirius a curious look.

"What's this all about then?" he said gently.

"Harry seemed to think last night was embarrassing and that he shouldn't make a fuss," Sirius said dryly.

Remus looked startled then turned a kind but amused gaze on the youth in his arms. "Harry," he chided gently. "You're supposed to make a fuss if something like that happens. That kind of dream is worth making a fuss about." He paused and grinned. "I think it falls into the telling people about things category."

Harry gave a muffled snort of laughter and Remus guided him back to his bed. Sirius looked at the two of them curiously.

"You two have a telling people about things category?" he asked. "How do I get in on this?"

Both Harry and Remus gave snorts of laughter as Harry settled back into bed.

"I made that promise to Remy ages ago," Harry said. "He was a bit upset that I hadn't told anyone about some of the things that had happened to me."

Remus frowned. "I thought you were going to make the same promise with Sirius?"

"Oh yeah! I was!" Harry said. "I guess we just got a bit distracted by other things."

"Well?" Sirius said, looking archly at his godson.

Harry sighed melodramatically and Remus and Sirius grinned at his antics. "Alright! Sirius, I promise I won't keep things from you any more." He paused. "As long as you promise to do the same!"

Sirius chuckled. "I think that's a pretty good deal. Done!"

The three of them smiled at each other then Remus shook his head. "Arrgh! Harry, I actually came up here to see if you were ready to speak to Albus. You two have managed to distract me yet again."

Sirius and Harry gave mischievous grins. "Yeah, I'm okay," Harry said. "And I guess I'd better do this now, while things are still fresh in my mind."

Remus nodded and left the room. He came back shortly afterwards with Dumbledore and Snape. The Headmaster conjured a comfortable chair next to Harry's bed and sat down while Snape stood over by the windows.

"Now Harry," the Headmaster said kindly. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm fine," Harry said with a roll of his eyes. "Everyone keeps asking me that!"

"Harry!" Sirius said with a twitch of his lips.

Harry sighed. "Sorry, Professor. It's just, well, everyone has asked me that this morning."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Not to worry, my boy. Now tell me what happened last night from your point of view. I already have the tale from Sirius, Remus and Severus; I'd like to hear what happened to you."

Harry was silent for a moment as he marshaled his thoughts. "I was dreaming. Nothing important, just normal stuff, when the dreams changed. They got darker and there was this odd crystalline feel to them. Then finally everything just went completely black. That's when I realized that there was something or someone else in the dream with me and that they were afraid."

"But you weren't?" Dumbledore asked gently.

"No," Harry said matter-of-factly. "I mean I can usually see in my dreams, which is kind of good but well, the whole total blackness thing wasn't going to bother me. I mean, if I don't use my Oversight that's my life. It didn't faze me at all but it was getting to this other...presence."

"Then what happened?" the Headmaster prompted.

"Well, then this other presence started to...panic, I guess. And it reacted by becoming angry. I tried to reach it. I don't know, to reassure it that it was just a dream I guess but I couldn't move. And it started radiating these waves of anger and rage and fear. All that emotion just seemed to destroy my shield and when it hit me without the shield it really hurt." Harry winced at the remembered pain. "It took me a while to rebuild my shields but when I did I was finally able to get out of there."

"Remus, Sirius and Severus have all reported that you said you thought that the other presence was Voldemort," Dumbledore said a very intent expression. "Why did you think that? To all intents and purposes, he is dead."

Harry paused and thought about what happened. "I don't know why I think it was Voldemort but I'm pretty sure I'm right. I guess it was the crystalline feel to whole thing that first made me think of it but the pain and anger felt pretty familiar as well." He paused and frowned. "I guess if anything, I'm just a little surprised that he was so afraid. I mean it was just a dream, wasn't it?"

Dumbledore was silent for a time. "Possibly not," he said finally. "We never really explained much about the crystal magic that Voldemort was using, did we?"

Harry shook his head and Dumbledore continued. "I believe that Voldemort was using the crystals to enhance his magic. It seems he found a way to use the crystals to focus his magic and was therefore able to augment his own power with them. The memories that you and Severus found in his mind seem to confirm this. There is very little literature available about the use of crystals in our magic so what could actually be done with it is pure speculation on my part."

"But you do have a speculation?" Remus asked.

"Yes, it came to me after I heard your stories and Harry's tale has only increased my liking for my speculation," Dumbledore replied.

"What is it?" Harry asked bluntly.

"I believe that somehow Voldemort was able to tie part or all of his spirit and magic into one of these crystals," Dumbledore said musingly. "If I am right and remember I have very little of substance to base this on. If I am right, when you destroyed him at Hogwarts, you again only destroyed his physical body. I believe his spirit, magic and...personality, if you like, are trapped in one of his own crystals."

The others in the room stared at him, dumbfounded, and then Harry frowned. "Wouldn't that mean that Draco now has access to them?" he asked.

"Possibly," Dumbledore said. "Though whether he realizes what has happened is another matter entirely. However, the word I have received from my sources indicates that Draco has no interest in resurrecting Voldemort. It appears that he is attempting to take over the Death Eaters for his own purposes."

Harry and Snape snorted in unison.

"Is he completely insane?" Harry said with contempt.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "That, Harry, is a question which may be up for some debate."

Harry's mouth dropped open slightly. "What?" he gasped.

"It appears young Mr Malfoy took his setback during the battle at Hogwarts rather to heart," the Headmaster said. "His words when he returned to Durmstrang were rather intemperate and the source who repeated them to me indicated he wasn't sure whether they were said in rage or incipient madness."

"Who was your source?" Harry asked warily.

"Mr Victor Krum," Dumbledore said calmly. "He agreed to stay on as Durmstrang's Flying teacher. Apparently it gives him more time to devote to his Quidditch career."

Harry nodded slowly; he was prepared to trust the word of the young Bulgarian Seeker.

"Is there any way of obtaining that crystal?" Snape asked acidly. "I, for one, would take great pleasure in crushing it underfoot."

Sirius and Remus gaped at the Potions Master while Harry nodded his head. When he and Snape had first meshed their minds they had had to open up to each other so that they would trust one another. During that process, Harry had learnt more than he really cared to about what Snape had had to do and had had done to him as a Death Eater. He had also become aware of the Potion Master's deep loathing for Voldemort.

The twinkle glinted in Dumbledore's eyes as he viewed his Potions Master. "I currently cannot see any way of doing that, Severus. It is something to keep in mind however."

Harry grinned then he frowned again. "What I don't understand is why he was so afraid. It doesn't really make much sense. I mean, he's Voldemort. He managed to resurrect himself, terrorize Merlin only knows how many people, kill, maim and mutilate, why was he so afraid of being in the dark?"

"Perhaps because he knows something you do not?" Snape said archly. "Not that that would be too difficult."

Remus and Sirius bridled and glared at Snape but were startled when Harry chuckled softly. "Not bad, sir," he said with a cheeky grin. "But I don't think you should get any credit for that one; it was too obvious."

As Remus and Sirius watched in surprise, the Potions Master's lips twitched in what was almost a smile. Dumbledore chuckled as well.

"I don't suppose you could explain that a bit better, sir?" Harry asked.

Snape raised an eyebrow then relented. "I meant, Mr Potter, that the Dark Lord undoubtedly knew where he was but it was not the darkness that he was afraid of. He has obviously been experimenting with this crystal magic. Clearly he is stuck where he is and will be unable to free himself. He must rely on others to do so. From previous events, he knows that his Death Eaters will not fall over themselves to free him. It was only due to Pettigrew's reluctant aid that he was able to manage last time. Particularly after his attempt at the Philosopher's Stone failed."

Harry nodded in understanding. "So his fear of being trapped in there forever showed itself in the rage, anger and fear I felt?"

"Correct, Mr Potter," Snape said.

Harry thought about this for a moment then smiled. "You know, I think I can view Voldemort's predicament with a certain amount of satisfaction."

The others chuckled.

"We shouldn't get too complacent though," Remus said with a small frown. "We certainly wouldn't want Draco to release Voldemort. I think we should definitely try to get our hands on whatever crystal Voldemort is currently residing in."

"An excellent idea," Dumbledore said and rose to his feet. "But I currently cannot think of a way to achieve it. Well, I shall return to Hogwarts to bend my mind to the idea. Look after yourself, Harry."

Harry nodded to the Headmaster and watched as the old man left the room. He then turned to his godfather and guardian. "Can I get up? Or are you two going to make me stay here?"

The two men exchanged glances. Finally Remus temporized, "Er, well, how do you feel?"

"I feel fine, Remy," Harry said firmly. "I've got a bit of a headache, that's all."

Severus rose to his feet, a small smirk on his face. "I think you should allow Mr Potter to decide what he wants to do. He is almost of age after all. If he falls on his face, he will only have himself to blame."

The Potions Master swept out of the room, the outraged glares of Remus and Sirius following him.

"Can't he leave it alone for once," Sirius growled.

"Siri, it's alright," Harry said rolling his eyes. He climbed out of bed and rummaged in his wardrobe. His voice when he continued was a little muffled. "It's just what he does. I think it's a defense mechanism."

Harry stepped back from the wardrobe with some clothes in his arms to find his godfather and guardian looking at him strangely.

"What?" he said defensively. "We had to get to know each other a whole lot better because of that mind meshing thing we did. Besides, in this case, he had a good point."

The two men shook their heads and Harry rolled his eyes again. "Fine! Don't believe me. I'm going to have a shower and then I'm going to write to Ginny. If I don't and she finds out what happened and it's not from me, I'm a dead man." With that he stalked into his bathroom, closing the door firmly behind him.

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Draco sat in the study he had inherited from his father and gazed moodily out of the window. The remaining free Death Eaters were not falling into line with him as he thought they would. Pansy seemed eager and she had assured him that her little cohort would follow him without hesitation but it was the adult Death Eaters he really needed. He picked up the small wooden box he had found in the Dark Lord's chambers. There had been two of them, one larger than the other. This was the smaller one of the two. Both had contained crystals; the larger box had contained about a dozen small clear crystals, this smaller chest contained a single large black crystal.

He absently flipped open the lid of the box and looked at the crystal. While there were great sheafs of notes on the Dark Lord's experiments using the smaller crystals, there was absolutely no information on what the Dark Lord had used the larger crystal for. He casually reached out to touch the crystal but drew his fingers away at the last minute. He was no idiot Gryffindor, to go around touching strange and unusual things. While he doubted the crystal was a portkey, he had no intention of finding out what it was the hard way.

He put the box back down on the desk and got out of his chair. He limped over to the windows and thought about the reluctant Death Eaters. The problem seemed to be that they thought he was his father. Merlin knows Lucius hadn't exactly covered himself with glory in his tasks for the Dark Lord, culminating in getting himself killed by Potter's Runespoor in the battle at Hogwarts. Draco snarled soundlessly; he had managed to convince them for the moment that he was not his father but he knew that he could not afford even a single failure. If that happened the remaining Death Eaters would slink back into the woodwork and he would be left on his own. Now while he could probably manage if that happened it would be a major setback. He would then have to build up his own group and that would take more time than he really wanted. Gaining the support of the Death Eaters would give him a ready made force.

Draco snarled and limped back over to the desk, throwing himself gracelessly into the chair. He tapped his fingers on the box in front of him then flipped the lid open again. He stared moodily at the crystal and once again his fingers inched towards it. He halted them a bare fraction of an inch from the crystal and snatched them back. He stared at the crystal intently and for the first time noticed that it wasn't actually a black crystal. It was a clear crystal that held some kind of black, swirling substance. Draco's eyes narrowed and he leaned closer to the crystal as though that would force it to give up its secrets. Then he began to slowly reach out towards it again. His fingers were just about to touch it when there was a knocking at the door.

Draco snatched back his fingers and blinked rapidly. Then he shook his head and got up. The sudden movement pulled sharply on his ravaged hamstring and sent a bolt of pain up his spine. He stopped and swore then limped over to the door and wrenched it open.

"What is it?" he snarled. He started with surprise then modulated his tone of voice into something polite. "Oh, Dibs, my apologies. My...leg was quite painful when I got up. There was no reason for me to be rude to you."

The little house-elf bowed his acknowledgement of the apology. "You are quite welcome, Master Draco," Dibs said respectfully. "Are you sure we cannot fetch a Healer for you?"

"Quite sure, Dibs," Draco said calmly. "The Durmstrang Healer has looked at it and done all that she could."

"Very well, Master Draco," Dibs said a little dubiously. "There is a young lady waiting for you in the parlour. She says her name is Miss Pansy Parkinson. She doesn't have an appointment but she said you would be willingly to talk to her."

A smile curved Draco's lips. "Yes, it's quite alright, Dibs. Miss Parkinson is an old friend of mine from Hogwarts. Could you please arrange for some tea to be sent to the parlour?"

"Certainly, Master Draco," Dibs said with a bow then disappeared with a small pop.

Draco limped down the corridor to the parlour and opened the door.

"Ah, Pansy," he said with a pleased smile. "How delightful to see you."

"Hello, Draco," the pug-nosed Slytherin girl said coquettishly. "Did you know that your floo is being monitored?"

Draco blinked and then frowned. "And just how do you know this, Pansy?" he said firmly.

"Because my father dislikes flooing into monitored fireplaces," she simpered. "He developed a charm to let him know whether or not a floo is monitored when the words of the destination are spoken. When I said Malfoy Manor, well, you should have seen the charm light up! There's more than one monitoring charm involved, Draco dear."

Draco scowled and tried to pace. "One of them was probably put there by those ungrateful bastards at the Ministry," he muttered to himself. "The other probably belongs to that old fool at Hogwarts."

He snarled then shook his head slightly before looking back at his former school mate and smiling handsomely. "I'm sorry to go off like that, my dear," he said smoothly. "Terribly rude of me."

Pansy swept over to him and laid a delicate hand on his arm. "Oh, that's quite alright, Draco. It was frightfully rude of me to just spring that news on you like that. My mother would have such words with me over my manners."

Draco raised an eyebrow. It was highly unlikely Pansy's mother would have anything to say at all, let alone a rebuke for poor manners. The woman was a dribbling wreck that was kept in a locked room in the Parkinson's Manor. She had tried to break away from her husband when she found out about his allegiances. In the ensuing fight, Tybalt Parkinson had been forced to destroy much of his errant wife's formidable intellect. Clumsy of him, Draco thought to himself, there are better ways of ensuring obedience.

"Well anyway," Pansy said, coming to the point of her visit. "My father is getting quite put out by your refusal to give him an answer." She lowered her eyes and looked up at the blond-haired young man standing in front of her through her eyelashes. She allowed her lips to tremble slightly as she continued. "Oh Draco dear, you seemed quite eager last year. Please don't tell me you've changed your mind." She allowed a single tear to fall.

Draco watched this with some amusement. Pansy really was quite skilled in her little manipulative tactics; it would probably work wonderfully well on the unprepared. He placed a hand under her chin and tilted her head up.

"I'm so dreadfully sorry, Pansy. I've been so busy seeing to my father's affairs that I just haven't have time to respond to your father's offer," he said gently. "You have my profoundest apologies for that terrible insult. Of course I haven't changed my mind, my petal. I shall send my response to your father immediately." Quick as lightning, his face hardened and his hand tightened painfully on her chin. "But Pansy, my petal," he said harshly, "if you ever try those tactics on me again, I shall be most displeased. I do not like to be manipulated. Ask or don't ask. Don't manipulate me."

The tears in Pansy's eyes now were genuine and she nodded as best she could. Draco's grip gentled and his eyes became tender. He brought his other hand up and gently caressed her face before sliding it through her hair.

"But you won't do that to me again, will you my little petal?" he said softly and seductively. "You're too clever to try a failed tactic twice, aren't you?" Again Pansy nodded, this time with a small, smug smile, and Draco continued. "Yes, I'm right. You will gain a great deal as my wife, Pansy, far more than you ever could on your own. Do what is right and you will never suffer by my hand. Do what is right and you shall be honoured before all."

He gently caressed her face again and leaned in to kiss her. She responded eagerly and he deepened the kiss. He kept one hand buried in her hair and slowly traced the other one down her side. She moaned eagerly into his mouth and he brought his hand around to cup her breast. He pulled away from the kiss and from her body, smirking at the small moan of protest she gave. He stretched out a hand and caressed her face again.

"Go home, little petal," he said softly. "Go home and wait for my message."

Pansy nodded, her eyes still slightly glazed from the kiss, and she turned towards the fireplace. Just as she was reaching for the floo powder, Draco spoke again.

"Oh and Pansy?" The girl turned to face him, a smiling, curious look on her face. "When you go back to Hogwarts for the new school year, kill Snape for me?"

Pansy smiled winsomely at him. "Of course, Draco dear. Anything for you." She turned back to the fire, threw in the floo powder and disappeared.

Draco watched her go impassively then smiled in a way that would have sent shivers down the spine of any sane witch or wizard watching. It was the smile of a mind that was slowing slipping from its anchoring. Draco returned to his study and drew a piece of parchment to him. He picked up his quill and began to compose a positive response to Tybalt Parkinson's offer of his daughter's hand in marriage.

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Harry, too, was in the midst of writing a letter, though in his case speaking a letter would be more appropriate.

Dear Ginny,

I thought I'd better write and tell you about what has happened. As I said to Siri and Remy, if I don't and you find out from someone else, I daresay my days would be numbered! Now don't blush, Ginny, I happen to rather like your temper, especially when it's directed at someone other than me!

So, on to what happened. I had a strange dream. Or I suppose in light of what it was about, it was a strange vision. I was dreaming normally when it suddenly changed into something dark and crystalline. That's when I realised that there was someone or something else in there with me. That someone else was afraid and began to panic. They got really angry in their panic and they managed to batter down my shields. It took a while but I managed to get my shields back up and get out of the dream or vision.

I've already spoken to Professor Dumbledore about this. I think it was Voldemort, Ginny. The anger and pain felt the same as what I used to get from him through those visions. The Headmaster agrees with me but unfortunately there not much we can do about it right now. Everything that might tell us whether we are right or not is in Malfoy Manor and we can't exactly get into there at the moment.

I know I haven't exactly explained this too well. I'll try to do a better job when we come to the Burrow in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to that a lot! Not that I'm not enjoying being here with Siri and Remy. It's great. I don't think I've got the words to describe what it's like finally having a family.

In answer to your question, yes, Siri's loosened his grip a little now that's he's becoming more used to the idea that Remy and I aren't going anywhere. Actually, I was a little embarrassed about the fuss I made last night and Siri kind of yelled at me. Not bad yelling but good yelling. He told me that it wasn't making a fuss to react to what happened to me. It felt strange being yelled at in that way but I suspect you know about that already. Your Mum yells like that sometimes too.

Anyway, I'd better finish this up. Siri and Remy aren't sure if I should be up and about at the moment. I think I'll go into the living room and be conspicuously resting. With any luck, they'll come and play chess. That's always fun to watch and listen to.

I miss you a lot, Ginny.

Love,

Harry

He put down the quill and picked up his reading device. He attached it to the letter and listened to what had been written. Feeling satisfied, he reached for his cane and made his way up to the tiny owlery on the top floor. There were three owls there, owned by Sirius and Remus, and he selected one and gave it to the letter.

"Take that to Ginny Weasley at the Burrow, please," he said to the large owl and gave it a boost off his arm. He watched as the owl flew gracefully out of the window, a little pang rushing through his heart as he remembered his beautiful Hedwig.