Harry Potter and the Crystalline Darkness

Chapter 26

Harry led them up the stairs to the Headmaster's office, hoping that the password had not been changed. He was relieved to find it had not and the six of them made their way up the revolving staircase and knocked on the door. When the Headmaster opened it, he viewed them all with a benign smile.

"Ah, welcome," he said, standing back so that they could enter. "Poppy said you'd be coming up to see me. She seemed to think that something happened to the six of you. I see that she was correct. Come and sit down and tell me everything."

The students shuffled in and sat down in various chairs couches around the fireplace. The Headmaster joined them and offered tea and pumpkin juice all round, aware that the three couples were sitting in very protective poses. Once everyone was settled, he leaned back in his chair and looked expectantly at Harry.

Harry took a deep breath and, after a quick glance at his friends, launched into the tale of what had happened when they brought the antidote up to the Hospital Wing, with occasional additions from the others. The Headmaster listened to the entire thing without interruption.

"Ah, so that is what happened to distract the castle so much," he said quietly when Harry was finished. "I was wondering."

"Then the castle really is alive?" Ron said, looking flabbergasted and wrapping his arms more firmly around Hermione.

"To a certain extent, yes," Dumbledore replied. "The sheer amount of magic has made her somewhat self-aware and certainly capable of aiding those who need it. As the six of you did."

"She's helped you?" Harry asked.

"Yes, dear boy," Dumbledore replied. "Though normally she's waited until she was asked. But she does like you, Harry, very much. You are among the few who have always considered her to be home and she has always had a soft spot for those who like her in that way. And it was an emergency."

"Then she's not likely to do that again without being asked?" Ginny asked a little shakily.

The Headmaster closed his eyes and was still for a few minutes then he chuckled and opened his eyes again. "The castle extends her apologies for being so rough with you. She cannot actively act on us; she can only act through intermediaries. Harry needed her aid and she knew the five of you had the power to help him. You just needed the skill, which she could provide. She promises she won't do it again without your permission."

"I don't object to what she did," Ginny said hastily. "I just would have liked to have been asked first. It was very disconcerting to be snatched up in that way."

Dumbledore closed his eyes again. "She understands and apologises for frightening you," he said when he opened his eyes again.

"That's okay," Ginny said to the castle in general then she gasped when the castle touched her again, almost in a benediction.

Dumbledore smiled at her, his eyes twinkling. "Now, I believe some congratulations are in order for your superb handling of a rather tricky situation. Let me see, I think fifty points each would be about right. I'm sure Master Nhean would like to hear about this, Harry. Do make sure you tell him. And lastly I think all six of you ought to go and get some rest. I'll see that you are woken for dinner but you all look quite exhausted." He paused and smiled at them. "I am very proud of all of you. You faced an uncertain situation and worked together admirably to overcome it."

The students gave tired smiles, the potions Madam Pomfrey had given now starting to wear off, and stood shuffling down the stairs. They made their weary way up to Gryffindor Tower, Ginny having offered Luna one of the beds in her dorm. She had accepted, it being a longer walk to the Ravenclaw dormitories than the Gryffindor ones. The three couples paused in the common room for a moment, seeking comfort and reassurance in each other's arms before separating and heading upstairs and collapsing on their beds. Just before he dozed off, Harry felt the castle brush his mind again in what almost seemed to be a gentle benediction.

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Voldemort/Draco admired his new robes in the mirror and brushed the front of them almost primly. He glanced over his shoulder and smirked; Pansy lay naked on the bed, asleep or passed out he did not know. Nor did he care. He had been careful not to harm her permanently though; she was far too valuable for that. Her plan for disposing of the traitor Snape had been excellent; it was just a shame that she had been caught before the end. It would be interesting to know how long it would take the Potions Master to die. Severus was stubborn and stoic; Voldemort was sure that he would hang on far longer than others had, enduring increasing and endless pain. He chuckled maliciously as he smoothed his hair back. No more than the traitor deserved really.

With one final flick of his robes, Voldemort/Draco limped out of the room without a backwards glance. He stalked along the corridors of Malfoy Manor, revelling in the feel of his new body. This was far better than what he had gained from the ritual in the cemetery. That body had been harsh and admittedly ugly, even frightening. This body, even though it was hampered by a limp and one missing eye, was young and in its prime and he would have decades before he had to think of its upkeep. A quiet snarl came from the dim recesses of his mind and he chuckled softly at Draco's impotent complaints.

He couldn't believe the foolish boy had believed him when he had said he had no intentions of trying to take over his mind. Surely the boy had known better. It had taken him many long months to work out how to shatter his crystalline prison within Draco's mind and in the end the solution had been laughably simple for such an experienced Legilimancer as himself. The prison had been formed as a result of the crystalline magic that had sustained him after his body had been destroyed yet again by Harry Potter and Draco's surprisingly strong will. The magic had been very pliable for a split second after he had invaded Draco's mind and the boy's strong fight against him had affected that magic, creating the crystalline prison.

He had discovered almost by accident that the strength of the prison lay in the strength of Draco's desire to keep them separate. He had discovered this during one night when Draco was being thoroughly distracted by Pansy. The walls of his prison had thinned and when he had tested one of them it had fractured and almost shattered. Had he started on his investigations earlier, he may well have been able to achieve his escape that very night. But Draco and Pansy had finished their distracting activity and the walls had quickly thickened and strengthened again. Since then he had been testing the wall every time Draco had gotten angry, upset and in any other way worked up. He had soon come to the conclusion that Draco would need to be extremely agitated for the walls to thin enough for him to escape. That the Potter boy had provided that opportunity had just come as a delicious irony.

He hadn't expected thing to go quite the way they had when he had escaped. He had thought he would be able to take over entirely and crush Draco's mind. But when it had happened he had found that he was not able to evict the boy entirely. The body had held on grimly to its original personality. He had been able to subjugate the boy thoroughly though and trap him in a distant corner. The boy could not reach anything, could not affect anything and Voldemort could only hear the most distant grumbles from him. It was not perfect but it was far better than anything else he had achieved since that disastrous night sixteen years ago.

Voldemort/Draco swept into the large parlour where his remaining Death Eaters were waiting, talking quietly amongst themselves. They became silent as soon as they noticed him enter and bowed deeply almost as one. When they straightened, he could see the wary looks in their eyes and he almost smiled. The Death Eaters caught the look of malicious amusement that he did allow to show in his eyes and he could see the belief spread through them. The subsequent subservient murmurs of 'Master' pleased him greatly.

"So few left," he said as he viewed the sparse population in the room. "Such a pity but we shall recruit more. I am pleased to see you, my faithful Death Eaters. As you can see I have once again returned though in a manner far more pleasing on the eye." He paused and the Death Eaters obediently laughed. "Now to business, have you found out any more on the Guild of the Night?"

The Death Eaters all looked to Antonin Dolohov and the man stepped forward and bowed.

"My Lord, we have had some luck on that score," he said, relieved to have some good news for he did not think that a change in form would have affected the Dark Lord's fondness for the Cruciatus curse. "While we have found little new information on the Guild itself, we have found something far more interesting. The Guild is very secretive but it has had its share of enemies over the years. One of those enemies came very close to wiping out the Guild entirely."

Voldemort/Draco gave Antonin an intent look. "How? If the Guild is so secretive about how they do what they do and where their home is then how did this enemy achieve that?"

"They did not try to attack the Guild as whole or try to fathom their secrets," Antonin explained. "They worked out that the Guild Warriors have some unknown way of seeing what is around them and they finally worked out that whatever method is used is based on magic. Their first thought was to create a spell or artefact that absorbs magic but they soon discovered that such things are notoriously indiscriminate. If they absorb magic from one person, they are likely to do so from everyone in range and also from any magical structure around. Then someone within their organization realized that if the Guild Warriors are using the magic to see then they did not need to remove magic from an area but merely make it invisible in some way."

"I take it they succeeded," Voldemort/Draco said, sounding intrigued.

"Yes, my Lord," Antonin replied. "It is not easy but it is effective. An object needs to be infused with a spell then all of the magic within the influence of that object will be effectively rendered invisible. It will still be there and be able to be used but it will not be able to be seen by any kind of revealing spell."

"Does it work against the Warriors?" Voldemort/Draco asked.

"They weren't sure until the first time they lured a Warrior into a place they had prepared with one of these objects but once they had they found it was amazingly effective," Antonin said with a hint of triumph. "As long as the Warrior remains near the object then they are no more effective than any other blind person. Whatever advantage they have through their Guild training is lost. And even better, they are usually so disorientated because of the loss of whatever gives them sight that they become easy prey."

Voldemort/Draco considered this for a moment. "And what is the down side to all of this?"

Antonin swallowed nervously. "The spell requires an enormous amount of energy and to get a sphere of influence that is effective usually takes many wizards many months of work. If all of us were to do this, I estimate it would take three months to achieve a sphere of influence with a radius of six feet. And the object must be something substantial in order to take that much power. The group in question used a large basalt pillar which they said was effective but a crystal based object would be ideal. They just couldn't find one big enough. The more power the spell has, the larger the object must be."

Voldemort nodded thoughtfully and paced the room. This looked like being a sound plan though expensive in terms of time and magical power. He stopped his pacing and whirled to face his Death Eaters, revelling in the strength and freedom of movement he had in this youthful body.

"This is a workable plan," he said finally and smirked at the current of relief that ran through the Death Eaters. "You have done well, Antonin. Know that I am pleased with you. You will give me the spell needed and instruct the others. I shall provide the anchoring object. I will have to consider very carefully where this is to occur."

He smiled in grim satisfaction and turned towards the door. He paused as he laid a hand on the doorknob and turned back to those in the room.

"And know this, my faithful Death Eaters," he crooned dangerously. "Pansy Parkinson speaks with my voice. If she orders you to do something and you refuse, have no doubts I will find out and you will not like the consequences."

With that he opened the door and swept out of the room, leaving the Death Eaters to exchange worried and nervous looks. Only Bellatrix Lestrange felt anything else; she glared angrily at her departing Lord and scowled.

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Severus Snape slowly drifted towards consciousness becoming aware first of all of the absence of pain. Pain had been such a constant companion for the last three weeks that it seemed almost strange not to be feeling it. He contemplated this as he slowly woke and wondered what he'd find when he opened his eyes. He had to assume that he was still alive; surely his sins would not allow him any peace after death. He drew in a shuddering breath and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked at the bright light assaulted him and he squinted into it until his eyes adjusted.

"It's good to see you awake, my boy," came the Headmaster's relieved voice from besides him and only his long years as a spy allowed him to react no further than turning his head.

"How long?" Severus said in a scratchy, gravelly voice.

"Since the poison first showed itself, three weeks," the Headmaster replied. "Since you finally succumbed to it, about a week. Miss Granger has done some excellent work."

"Yes, I suppose she has," Severus grunted, his normal reluctance to praise a Gryffindor lost for the moment in his relief to be alive and pain-free.

The Potions Master lay silent for a moment, assessing how he felt, then he slowly levered himself into a sitting position. He turned to face the Headmaster and his eyes narrowed at the other man's expression.

"What has happened?" he demanded. "And do not tell me that I must rest first. I am perfectly alright."

Albus sighed. "I think I have learnt the futility of trying to make you behave yourself, Severus. Very well. As you know, on the day you collapsed I was taking the illusion Harry created of himself to see Petunia Dursley."

"Something went wrong," Severus said sourly, breaking into the Headmaster's narrative.

"Indeed," Albus replied dryly. "There was indeed a trap set and we allowed the illusion to be taken. Harry reported that his double was taken to Malfoy Manor. Draco was there along with Bellatrix and Pansy. There was another male Death Eater that Harry recognized but didn't know the name of. There was a certain amount of verbal toing-and-froing and somewhere during the middle of this something happened with Draco. It appears your fears were well-founded if what Harry said is true. Voldemort has somehow taken over Draco's mind."

Severus closed his eyes momentarily, remembering the conversation Albus was alluding to. He sighed. "What else?"

"We know nothing more," Albus said. "Harry dispelled the illusion at that point. The presence of Voldemort was causing him some pain and he was quite distressed by what he had seen. I received the distinct impression that while he has no love for Draco, seeing his mind destroyed as it surely must have been was not pleasant."

"What are we doing then?" Severus asked.

"Very little unfortunately," Albus said, feeling unpleasantly helpless. "We have no access to Voldemort's inner sanctum and no knowledge of what he is likely to do. I have activated the Order again and have set people to watching the Death Eaters in the hope that they may lead to some sort of answer. I shall ask Harry, Sirius and Remus to stay here at Hogwarts until we can be sure of their safety. There is little else we can do."

"As you know, I returned to search some of the Dark Lord's boltholes after the battle last year," Severus rasped. "I did not tell you I discovered a journal of his. It is written in Parseltongue and I hoped to find out if there was anything relevant and then burn the cursed thing. Unfortunately, the Parseltongue ability I was gifted in was merely for speaking and hearing, not visual understanding."

"You wish Harry's help?" Albus hazarded.

"He has already agreed to this," Severus said. "We made one attempt two weeks ago but my...illness prevented us from doing too much. The journal may contain information, hopefully some of the Dark Lord's possible plans though there are no guarantees."

"What do you wish from me?" Albus asked.

Severus grimaced. "Mr Potter was...unsettled by what happened and will likely be further unsettled by the subject matter in that journal. I have thought about this and think it might be best if he were to have someone there to aid him during this. I cannot; to do this requires us to mesh quite deeply and I will be as exhausted as he is."

Albus nodded, a curious look in his eyes. "I could arrange for Sirius or Remus to be available?"

Severus shook his head. "I am reliably informed that Mr Potter chose to go to Miss Weasley after the last attempt. Perhaps she might be the better choice."

The twinkle grew in Albus' eyes and Severus scowled. "Very well, Severus," Albus said cheerfully. "I shall inform her teachers that she is to be allowed to leave her classes whenever you and Harry wish to attempt this reading again."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Severus grumbled.

Dumbledore chuckled and pushed himself to his feet. "I'd best leave you, dear boy. Poppy will have my head if I tire you."

Severus snorted and watched with discontent as the Headmaster ducked around the screens. He heard the man's footsteps fade and then the school's mediwitch came bustling in. He endured her questions and poking and prodding with ill grace and short answers then sighed with relief when he was left alone. He was pleased to see that someone, most likely the Headmaster, had had the foresight bring up the book he had been reading and leave it on the bedside table and he picked it up and returned to where he had been forced to leave off.

Much later it was the sound of someone bumping into a bed and some quiet swearing that alerted him that he was no longer alone. He placed the book down on the bed and smirked; he recognized that voice.

"Mr Potter, I am coming to believe that you are chronically incapable of following the rules," he said conversationally. "I used to think it was just in response to what you perceived as threats but now I have come to the conclusion that you are just a born troublemaker." He paused and said thoughtfully, "No great surprise really."

There was a shuffle of the screens surrounding his bed and a rustle of fabric then a flustered-looking Harry Potter emerged from beneath his invisibility cloak.

"I...just wanted to make sure you were alright," he stammered, juggling his cloak and cane and looking like he was about to lose both.

Severus gave a world-weary sigh. "Do sit down, Mr Potter. I daresay Madam Pomfrey will not throw you out. She sees so much of you, it must seem strange to her when you are not here."

Harry draped his cloak over the chair the Headmaster had been using and sat down, fiddling with his cane. Finally he broke into a tiny smile. "I guess you're definitely feeling better then, sir? Your insults are much more fluent."

"My life became so much more difficult the day you grew up enough to determine when I am not serious in my insults," Snape replied regretfully. "Before then you would cower and snap. So much more entertaining."

Harry's smile became a fully-fledged grin. "Yes, sir," he said as insolently as he could.

"Aggravating brat," Severus grumbled as he marked the page in his book and closed it. "Did you have some purpose in coming to see me or did you just want to be generally annoying?"

Harry sobered. "Has the Headmaster spoken to you about what happened to Draco?"

"Yes," Severus replied bluntly.

Harry sighed. "You were right again."

"You, or rather your illusion, did not stay," Severus observed.

"It hurt too much," Harry admitted.

Severus nodded in understanding. "You are sure that the Dark Lord has taken over Draco's mind though?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. The image overlay changed after Draco had that little fit or whatever it was. It became clearer and more defined."

"And what exactly does that mean?"

"The better I know someone the clearer and more defied their image overlay is," Harry explained. "During the Battle, Voldemort's was the clearest and Draco's became the same and my scar hurt pretty badly."

Snape frowned. "But how could you know the Dark Lord that well?"

"The link," Harry said dryly. "I've had that link there since I was about a year and a half. I sort of know Voldemort better than anyone else in some ways."

Severus grimaced. "I suppose that makes sense then."

"This is going to change things, isn't it?" Harry asked glumly.

"Yes, indeed, Mr Potter," Snape replied. "The Dark Lord will come after you and you must be ready. He will not leave anything to chance this time."

Harry nodded soberly. "I know. Master Nhean spoke to me this afternoon and said he was going to increase my training sessions and those of my Battle Guard. We'll also be working more with Sirius and the others."

"Good," Snape replied. "I also think it might be best if we were to delve back into the Dark Lord's journal."

Harry grimaced and nodded. "Yes, sir."

"I have taken the liberty of asking the Headmaster to allow Miss Weasley to attend those particular sessions," Snape said blandly. "She seems to have a calming effect on you that I think may be valuable."

Harry looked startled then rather pleased. "Um, yes, sir," he stammered.

"I suspect the journal may be useless in determining what the Dark Lord may do now," Snape said sourly. "But any information we can get regarding crystal magic will be highly useful. Your mother's notes were informative but she and your father did not go in the same direction as the Dark Lord. Their use of it was far more benign."

"I think they were thinking more in terms of spying," Harry said. "Rather than using it as a weapon of some sort."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "A pity they apparently abandoned the project. I would have found it most useful."

Harry thought back to what had happened with his double. "More than useful," he said. "I wonder why they did abandon it. Was there any reason given in Mum's notes?"

"No," Severus replied. "It is clear they intended to come back at some point to ensure the crystal worked as a power source." He paused and thought for a moment. "Ah, I believe I have the answer. Your mother wrote that they intended to return in two years to see if the crystal worked."

"Oh!" Harry said in sudden understanding. "But I'd...been born and..."

"Their priorities changed," Severus completed for him. "Understandable. Particularly after the Headmaster told them of the prophecy."

Harry nodded glumly.

"Now, I believe it is time you left," Severus said briskly. "There is nothing more either of us can do regarding Draco and as it is the middle of the night, you should be in bed."

Harry nodded and stood, fumbling a little with his cane and cloak until he got the garment around him. He looked over at the Potions Master. "Thank you, sir," he said as he flipped the hood of the cloak over his head.

Severus inclined his head in reply and watched as the screens surrounding his bed shivered as the young man passed them. He listened as Harry's footsteps faded and then opened his book again, determined not to think of Draco. What he had told Harry was true; there was nothing they could do now.