Harry Potter and the Magic Within

Harry Potter and the Magic Within

Chapter 29: 'A Prophecy'

The journey seemed a lot shorter to Harry than it had when he left Hogwarts before.

The sun was soon fully up and so the travelers had to keep themselves hidden above the thick gray clouds.

Harry was certainly feeling worse for wear. His head was foggy and his eyes kept playing tricks on him. Every now and then things would seem to go cloudy which made it rather hard to see straight. Harry assumed that this was something to do with the awful poison, as his eyes had done the same thing just after he took it.

Hedwig kept in the front, acting as their guide.

Harry felt stiff and achy, he wanted to go to sleep and stay that way for at least a week. He hated the thought of having to re-tell what happened, which he knew he would have to do when he got back.

After a long time on their broomsticks, they all heard Hedwig hoot loudly. In the distance, they could just see the towers and turrets of Hogwarts. Harry smiled faintly at the welcoming sight, though his head felt almost too heavy to lift to see it.

Five short minutes later, they were touching down at the bottom of the slope to the castle.

As Harry landed, he was struck by the strange colour of his hands. They looked slightly blue. It was cold high in the air, but surely not that cold. His head became foggier even as he pondered this phenomenon and then just as though someone had knocked him over the head, he collapsed on to the cold damp grass.

When Harry woke up with a start, he was lying in the infirmary. His head was aching very badly, but he just saw Madame Pomfrey sweeping over to his bed.

'How are you feeling?' she said softly, taking his wrist.

Harry told her that he had most definitely felt better that he did right then. She looked at his eyes and gasped a little before dashing in to the next room and bringing back a dark red potion in a small bottle. Harry drank a cup full, but got no answer when he asked what it was for.

Harry was a little improved by the time midday came. He still felt weak, but his head was much clearer.

'No,' said Madame Pomfrey for the hundredth time when Harry asked if he could go and see Ron and Hermione. 'Professor Dumbledore is coming to see you soon so you have to be here. Not only that, but you are just not well enough yet. Whatever it was that you did this time,' she added, 'has had a bad effect on you. I am keeping you in here for the next few days under observation. Your eyes were yellow the first time I looked at you. Who knows what other after-effects you might have.'

Not long after, Dumbledore hurried in to the infirmary. Harry heard him frantically asking Madame Pomfrey how he was, then Dumbledore came round the corner, so he sat up.

'Harry!' he said breathlessly, sitting on the bed. 'What was it? What did you have to face alone, and how did you manage to get out of there?' Harry thought he looked very serious.

He told him everything, as quickly as he could.

'How did you know I had to deal with that- that thing alone?' he asked after he had finished. 'Did Sirius tell you?'

Dumbledore's eyes shone rather brightly. He looked as though he was thinking very hard. Then he turned away and when he turned back around he was holding a large blue leather book with silver straps and hinges, and a silver padlock. Harry looked at it, puzzled.

'This is something that will answer a lot of your questions, Harry,' Dumbledore said slowly. Harry was still confused, the slight throb in his head made it even harder to fathom what on earth Dumbledore was talking about.

'I don't understand,' Harry said, taking the heavy book in his hands.

'Here,' said Dumbledore, passing Harry a small key which undoubtedly unlocked the little silver padlock at the side of the book. 'Go to page six hundred and eighty seven, Harry, and read what it has to say.'

Harry unlocked the book and turned its yellow, dusty pages over until he found the correct page. Then he read.

The Prophecy

There will come a tyme of danger,
When a Dark wizard shall bring
Death and Darkness in his wake~

Seek ye then the child

Born beneath the comet's tail~

For he alone shall have the power

In the tyme of greatest need~

Evil cast upon the infant

Shall rebound upon the evildoer

One hundredfold~

The child grows unaware of his power

Till the tyme his magick calls~

After many obstacles,

A new magick he will know~

He must then face an unknown fear

And this he must face alone....

The page ended there. Harry was fascinated and moved his hand to turn the page, but Dumbledore took it out of his hands and locked it once more. Harry wasn't sure what to say.

Dumbledore's blue eyes were fixed on him from behind his half moon glasses.

'You will probably be wondering exactly what that all means?' he said placidly. Harry nodded, feeling unable to form words.

'Well, this book,' he started, patting the blue leather cover, 'is hundreds of years old. It was a famous fortune-telling ancestor of mine who first wrote it all. He predicted many, many things. Most of which have come true,' he paused a moment, 'and I was looking through it one summer's day about 14 years ago, when I found that page.' Harry was hanging on Dumbledore's every word.

'Your parents were visiting at the time,' Dumbledore continued, 'and they had you with them. Of course, Lord Voldemort was gaining his power very quickly and it seemed I had found a page relevant to it. After reading it through, I went to have lunch with your parents. We got to talking about you and your progress. They said that you seemed rather good at making unexpected things happen with your powers for your age,' he chuckled a little, 'I then told them about my findings as our conversation turned to more serious matters. When I spoke of the line mentioning the comet, your parents looked rather startled and stared at me for a good few moments. They told me that you, Harry, were born on the very same night as a rare comet passed in the sky.'

Harry's mouth was open but he didn't notice. He waited for Dumbledore to go on.

'I spent a lot of time with your parents after that day, thinking of ways in which we could help with the prophecy or do something to help you along. Then, through our loyal spy, we discovered that Voldemort had heard the first few lines of our finding, predicting that a boy born under the famous comet could be his downfall. It had to have been someone close to your parents to know something of the prophecy so I was worried. I had suspected that someone had turned spy on our side. It turned out to be Peter Pettigrew, Wormtail. The Potters were going to perform the Fidelius charm which is a secret being kept inside one living soul. As long as the Secret keeper told no one what they knew Voldemort would find it impossible to locate you or your parents. I offered to be the keeper myself but your father chose Sirius. Sirius then changed their minds at the last moment and Wormtail became the keeper. You know the rest, of course. Wormtail told Voldemort, who went to your house on Halloween.'

Harry's mind was buzzing. It answered a lot of things he had never quite understood. There had been a reason that Voldemort was trying to kill him that night. It also explained how he was still trying to get rid of him. But then, did that mean it was his fault his parents died? Harry shook the thought from his head.

'What was on the next page?' he asked curiously, instead.

Dumbledore smiled a little.

'Nothing - yet. The words only appear close to the times they foretell. The last lines about you facing an unknown danger were only very recent. It was why I was so insistent upon doing nothing myself. I knew it was you who had to be there, and that you had to stand-alone.

'You have, most definitely passed your OWL's, I think,' he added, 'you won't need to take the tests. You have already shown what you can do. I must tell you how wonderfully brave you are, Harry. I think you will be a much better wizard than any of us can imagine.'

He smiled and left the infirmary, carrying the book.

Harry Potter and the Magic Within

Chapter 30: 'Many Meetings'

Later that afternoon, Harry woke up from a doze to find Sirius and Genevieve sitting by his side.

'How do you feel, Harry?' asked Genevieve, smiling a little.

'A little odd,' yawned Harry, rubbing his eyes and putting on his glasses.

'There is something you don't yet know, Harry,' Sirius said, glancing at Genevieve.

'What?' Harry asked, feeling as though nothing could surprise him after Dumbledore's visit.

'Well,' began Genevieve, 'you know Sirius is your Godfather, but you never knew that I was appointed your Godmother. You see, Sirius and I were engaged not long before that Halloween.'

Harry had been wrong, that surprised him a great deal. He lay back on his pillows wondering if his mind could take any more. Genevieve and Sirius smiled at his stunned surprise. Then Harry sprang up, right out of his bed as though he had been electrocuted.

'But - now you're - you're free!' he stammered to Sirius.

Sirius nodded. 'We are getting married this summer, and we want you to come and live with us.'

Harry felt as though he must be dreaming. He pinched his arm to check, and when he didn't wake up he jumped in the air feeling as though he could have flown without his Firebolt. He wasn't calm enough to hug them for a several long minutes. Harry never forgot that afternoon.

Harry didn't see Ron or Hermione for what seemed like ages. They were doing their tests and Harry wasn't allowed to leave the infirmary to go and see them in the evenings while they revised. He did, however, see a lot of Genevieve and Sirius.

They came to see him the next day when he had a high fever. Before Madame Pomfrey shooed them away from her patient, they told him that Sirius had been given a lovely house with a huge garden as a sort of compensation. The house and grounds weren't far from the Weasley's.

The day after, he felt almost normal and was permitted to sit by the lake outside with Genevieve, listening to stories about his mother. When Sirius joined them a little later, Harry heard about a night when Sirius, his dad and Lupin had only just got back to Hogwarts in the morning before being caught out of school.

Three days later, Harry felt rather dizzy, but on the whole fine. Madame Pomfrey was still keeping a close eye on him, but was beginning to think he was ready to leave the hospital wing.

By midday of Harry's fifth day in the infirmary, the fifth year Gryffindors had all finished their tests.

Ron and Hermione hurried in to the hospital wing out of breath and looking very tired. Harry was sitting by the far window and grinned broadly when he saw them.

'Harry!' Ron and Hermione called, before running over to him.

'Hello,' said Harry, still grinning.

'Oh, we have been waiting ages to see you, Harry,' Hermione said, smiling.

'Madame Pomfrey said you were sick?' Ron said, peering closely at Harry, as though wondering if it was true.

'She said that you had been given poison, Harry!' Hermione exclaimed. Harry nodded and Hermione gasped. Ron looked a little confused.

'Don't people usually die when they've had poison?' he said, frowning.

'Of course, Ron,' Hermione said impatiently, 'but Harry is not affected by some of them.'

'Lucky you then,' Ron said to Harry. 'Sirius and Genevieve told us what happened. They even told us what happened when you were on your own. Dumbledore must have told them, I suppose. Pretty amazing stuff, Harry!'

Then Harry remembered.

'And you'll never believe some of the things I've found out,' he said.

Then he told them all about the Prophecy. They had their mouths open throughout the entire thing.

'Wooahh,' Ron said when he'd finished, 'so you are destined to do all this stuff? You don't just get in to trouble and deal with it? Amazing!'

Hermione was at a loss for words, which was such an unusual thing, that Ron and Harry burst out laughing.

'I learnt something else too,' Harry said, when he and Ron had stopped laughing, 'Genevieve is my Godmother, she and Sirius were engaged before he went to Azkaban, and they're getting married, and I'm going to go and live with them!'

Ron jumped up and whooped. Hermione grinned widely.

'Oh, that's great, Harry. We found out she was your Godmother and was engaged to Sirius just after you left that night. But that's great, that you're going to live with them and everything.' Hermione was beaming.

'Oh, I just thought,' Ron said suddenly, 'the last game of Quidditch is in a few days. It's against Hufflepuff, and if we don't win, I'll eat my wizards hat.' Everyone laughed.

When Ron and Hermione were saying goodbye to Harry for the night, Madame Pomfrey bustled over and told them that they could take Harry as well.

'He seems recovered enough to go back to his dormitory, I think,' she said, 'but if anything goes wrong, even the slightest dizzy spell or anything, he comes back here.'

So, Harry hurried off with Ron and Hermione to Gryffindor tower in high spirits.

They were at the top of the marble staircase when Sirius came hurrying into the entrance hall.

'Ah, Harry,' he said, 'come quickly, we need to see if you can help us, Wormtail has escaped from the dungeons!'