Harry Potter and Gaining Momentum

Having you in my life made the pain bearable
Avidly I took your love and made you feel terrible
Riding high on your spirit, I all but lied to you
Readily I broke it off with words from out of the blue
You will always mean the world to me, this you must know
Please, you must forgive me, though my love I can't bestow
Offering my heart to you would only make it worse
Taking any love from me would surely be your curse
Today I pledge this life to you, though you know I must go back
Ending what we had hurt, but my heart will forever be black
Read this and take my plea, for I wish to have your grace,
I don't know if I can go on, knowing you'll give chase.

You will forever have a fragment of my heart that I'll never ask to be returned.

- Draco

Harry read the poem that Zeus, Severus' owl, brought to him from Draco over breakfast. He wanted to ball it up and throw it at the Slytherin. So, what now? Draco wanted Harry's forgiveness just so he could go back to the Dark Side with a clean conscience? Not Bloody Likely!

"Harry, what's wrong?" Ron asked, seeing Harry's tear-filled eyes that had yet to break their dam. Harry looked at him for a second, his expression stern, before he handed the poem/letter to Ron and put his face in his hands. Hermione read it over his shoulder.

Harry willed the tears to dry up, to vanish before he again looked frail. The skies outside howled with mourning winds and thunder clouds; the ceiling of the Great Hall lit up with lightning. He wanted to run, but where? Hermione would just wait till she was away from Ron and go to the Suite, where Godric would convince him to let her in. He still didn't want to talk. It had been a week since his terse words to Draco in the kitchen of the Suite, and he had wanted to take them back every minute since. He just knew instinctively that the small phrase had pushed Draco's guilt over the edge. He had yet to talk to anyone besides Godric about it. Even Dumbledore hadn't received the visit he requested two weeks ago. Who did they think they were, butting their noses into his love life like it was somehow their business? The only way any of them were remotely involved was because the ceiling of the Great Hall was affected by it, and the castle was dampened. Not that Harry cared. His Suite was always perfect.

"I don't get it," Ron said off-handedly. Hermione and Harry both looked at him sharply. Hermione had tears in her eyes that, like Harry, had yet to crash through their barriers.

"I can't believe he would go back, just because of something like this," Hermione whispered. Harry shrugged half-heartedly, trying to act as if he didn't care, and stood up.

"Harry..." Hermione said in a pleading voice, trying to get him not to flee like he always did; but he only turned to look at her.

"He took something from me I'll never get back. And I don't want it back. It doesn't matter how he got it, it's his and he knows it. He just told me," Harry motioned to the poem, "that I'll never receive his in return... what more is there to say. He sees no hope in all this, and I dove into it too deep. It's my own fault I feel this way; so leave it alone, Hermione," Harry said before walking out of the Great Hall with his shoulders slumped and his knees bent. The winds around the castle again howled as if in pain.

Harry walked to the Room of Requirement. As he did so, he began to think. The Room of Requirement was much like he was: it always took the shape of what everyone wanted it to be. It tried to accommodate everyone by shaping itself to fit their needs. He stopped looking at the picture of Barnabas the Barmy trying to train a troll to do ballet. It was indeed a foolish attempt. He'd never even wondered about the painting before; it was always just a means to an end - a way to mark the Room's location. Not many people would find the room without it. He turned to the wall opposite the foolish painting, and looked where the door would appear. He cleared his mind of all thought, and stopped radiating his feelings.

One...

He passed the door and grimaced at the attempt to think of nothing.

Two...

He still only concentrated on his footsteps that seemed to help his mind empty.

Three.

The door opened and he rushed in. The Room of Requirement was nothing. He had walked into a room that was empty and white. So white, in fact, that you couldn't tell where one wall ended and another began. He could distinguish no corners, ceiling, or floor (though he knew he was standing on something). The door closed behind him, and the room turned pitch black in an instant. He began to walk, for no particular reason. He just wanted to see what it shaped itself to be when it lacked anyone's orders or needfulness. He continued to walk... and walk... and walk. There was no end. It became what Harry could only imagine was the dark abyss that he felt in his chest every time he thought of Draco.

Harry knew he had limits, and wondered if the Room of Requirement did too. He closed his eyes and thought of a forest. When he opened them, he was, in fact, in something that resembled the Forbidden Forest. He looked around, being oddly reminded of the classroom Firenze used for Astronomy lessons. He closed his eyes for a second time, and thought about what he had seen while under the lake in the Second Task of the Tri-wizard Tournament. When he opened his eyes again, there was an exact replica of the town square of the Merpeople's village, but Harry could breathe now without gilly-weed. He closed his eyes for a third time. When he opened them, he was surrounded by empty space. Off in the distance he saw stars, and down below was a replica of Earth. Far away there were several beautiful nebulae, and stars that shone much brighter than he remembered ever seeing them through a telescope. Finally, for the fourth time, he closed his eyes. He wanted to test the Room's limits, as he did his own every day. He thought hard, concentrating on a fairy-tale idea that he'd once heard Petunia reading to Dudley, from his cupboard, when he was still very small. He knew the room acted like a natural Legilimens, and began to try to project the memories while thinking of exactly what he wanted. He got it.

When he opened his eyes there was a glass case, much like the one that Snow White was kept in while she was unconscious. The preserving charm on it was very strong. Harry could almost feel it. Standing beside the coffin-shaped glass case were a small table and a few chairs. On the table was a note, in Harry's handwriting, that explained exactly why he was here and what he'd done.

He climbed into the glass enclosure, lay down, and shut his eyes; then he dropped his Occlumency wall, and brought some benign but very loving memories to the front of his mind. He then put a wall up behind them to hide everything else. After a few minutes he had a second wall built in front of the memories that he was about to use as a lure. He closed his eyes, making sure to keep a small crack in the wall so that he could get through without worry, and began to concentrate. He probed his own mind for the link, and after about ten minutes, found it in a back recess that was dark and never used. He channeled it to the crack in his outermost wall, and began to probe at the link.

There was suddenly a jerk of his mind, and he almost lost his concentration as his mind started to slide through a worm-like vortex. After a minute, he slipped cleanly into Voldemort's mind. The place was very uncomfortable. It was dark, damp-minded and dreary. It reminded him of a cave of some sort, maybe one in hell, where everything had a lonely, depressing, unoccupied feel to it. Damn, Harry thought after probing: he has a wall of steel, just like mine.

"Tho-mas," Harry said in a sing-song voice, as tauntingly as he could. "Where are you?" he said, using a voice full of feigned glee. Draco wanted to go back to this man out of guilt. Not if Harry could help it.

"Come on, Tommy-boy, I know you can hear me!" Harry rang out manically. He really wasn't enjoying the lifeless place, but he had to get Voldemort pissed enough to give chase to his mind or try to trap him, in which case he'd have to open his mind a bit.

"POTTER!" Riddle screeched insanely. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Harry wasn't sure if Voldemort was yelling out loud, or just in his mind; it was quite loud.

"Where's the fun in that?" Harry provoked. "Think you can catch me?" he taunted again.

Voldemort said, or rather, thought nothing.

"Oh, come on, you're the one that likes games so much, play with me!" Harry rang out, falsely joyful.

Voldemort still thought nothing towards him.

"Fine, you filthy Mud-Blood, don't play, but don't say I didn't give you the chance to play mind games with the Great Harry Potter," Harry taunted in a last attempt. "Incompetent failure," he added in an undertone, and acted like he was about to leave. He was sure that Tom could feel him receding.

He suddenly felt Tom break open his walls a bit to try to pull Harry in, and Harry turned on the charm that Dumbledore had warned him about. It was a gift from the Shadow Phoenix, and was quite Veela-like.

"Come, Tom," he said in a whispery voice, and he felt Voldemort's mind go as loose as a wet noodle. "Follow me... yes... that's it... " Harry continued to coax. He could now feel Voldemort at the edge of the crack that he was trying to get Harry to enter. "Come out and play, Tom," Harry said in a faint, coaxing voice. The whispering was almost hypnotic, and was definitely doing the job. "That's a good Dark Lord... follow me this way," he said, then gave a mental pull to show Voldemort which direction to go. Then, at long last, and after only a little hesitation, right when he was about to leave his walls, Tom finally stepped out into the outer recesses of his mind. Harry took full control. He mentally grabbed Voldemort's mind and whisked it away as if it were a Portkey, right to his own mind. Harry slid through the vortex-like structure and gathered speed on the way, knowing that once Tom had his wits back, he'd start fighting. It took a minute, but he finally got Tom back to his mind and shoved him, kicking and screaming profanities, into the small crack that he had made for him. He sealed up the hole in under a second and lapsed into his Occlumency state, or "head games," as he'd come to call them. He would stay like this until Tom was very weak; then he'd let the man go. He just wanted to let Voldemort know what fear was... and whom to fear.

Unlike Draco, Voldemort was highly competent at these same games - so Harry couldn't just go about his daily life; he had to exert himself to keep Voldemort in place. The man was tearing at the walls the same way Harry did when he entered Draco's mind. As long as he stayed in this state, zoned out to the world, he could keep it under control. He had never done this for over two hours before, but was pretty sure that he could. He was faintly aware that his scar was burning, but paid no attention to it; pain didn't matter here. The only things that mattered were those two walls.

One hour...

Harry was still at it. Not even feeling a fragment of exhaustion from Tom ripping at his steel walls.

Two hours...

Harry was almost ecstatic. Tom was doing no damage. The pain from what he presumed was his scar was beginning to grow stronger, about like a pin prick, but his walls were still strong.

Four hours...

Every thing was fine, and Harry was learning how to block out the pain of his scar. He was vaguely aware of a small commotion that occurred outside his mind as the fourth hour hit, but paid no mind to it; he needed to keep his focus on his walls.

***

"What was he thinking?" Hermione exclaimed as she read the letter she found when she came up for Spell Invention.

"Idiot," Draco said, staring at Harry's pale form in the glass case.

"I need to get this to Dumbledore; you stay here with him," Hermione said.

"Idiot," Draco said again, still staring at Harry.

"Oh, shut up, Malfoy. This is partly your fault. He wouldn't have felt he needed to do this if you hadn't sent him that awful poem this morning," she said stiffly, before leaving the Room of Requirement and heading for the Headmaster's office.

"What exactly is he doing?" Susan asked, peering over the glass case to see Harry.

"Being idiotic," Draco said, rolling his eyes.

"Could you elaborate?" Susan said sarcastically.

"He's brought Voldemort into his mind to weaken him. He thinks it will make the Dark Lord fear him. Not bloody likely," Draco said just as sarcastically.

"Vol-Voldemort?" Susan stuttered fearfully.

"Yes, Voldemort. He's an idiot for doing this. Especially without anyone here to watch and make sure he's okay."

"How long has he been like this? Do you know?"

"The letter gave a starting time, so now it's been four hours," Draco said, taking a seat. Susan sat down next to him.

"I hope he kills him."

"Who kills who?" Draco asked, confused.

"I hope Harry kills V-V-Voldemort by doing this."

"He can't; Voldemort's too strong-minded."

"Don't rain on my parade, just let me hope," Susan said wistfully. They sat in silence until the Headmaster and Professor Snape showed up, walking in behind Hermione.

"Insufferable idiot!" Snape said upon entering.

"Calm down, Severus; Harry's in a fragile state right now. If we cause too much of a disturbance now, he'll lose his concentration, and Voldemort will have free reign over his mind," Albus said calmly.

"He probably already does," Snape said under his breath.

"No, he doesn't," Hermione said sternly, "He's done this to Draco before for trying to read his mind. He had no problem then, and I don't think he'll have much of a problem now," she said firmly before moving next to Dumbledore, who was peering over the glass coffin like Susan had done.

"I think he's feverish," the Headmaster said.

"His scar is protruded also. It must really be hurting him right now," Hermione said.

"Miss Bones, could you be so helpful as to fetch some ice from the kitchen? Draco, could you fetch Madam Pomfrey?" Albus asked them. They both nodded and left the room, but not before Draco cast one more sorrow-filled glance at Harry.

Six hours...

Harry was still not straining yet. Tom had actually calmed down, but he was by no means weak yet. Harry strolled his mind around the outer wall of his mental sphere. He needed to contact the outside world. He wanted to tell them not to try to bring him out of this situation. He needed this; they needed this. The weaker Tom was, the safer the wizarding world would be until he got better. With Tom weak, it gave him and the others time to prepare the counter to the Killing Curse. Harry was also hoping that if Draco found out how weak Tom was, he wouldn't feel so keen to go back and join him. They had already taken apart the Avada Kedavra, but still needed to break down three other spells, then splice them back together correctly. It wouldn't be simple by a long shot, but they were half way done. Another week or so and they should be able to start testing.

He realized the pain that he was feeling in his scar was beginning to abate a bit, and let out a mental sigh. As far as he could tell, that was the only thing that was preoccupying his mind at the moment. With the pain out of the way, he could possibly bring more memories of love into the second sphere, where Voldemort was being held tight.

***

"There's nothing more I can do. He's put himself in this state as a safeguard. If we try to bring him out it could really hurt him, or worse, give You-Know-Who a chance to possess him. It's too risky," the medi-witch said. Albus nodded.

"I'm not sure how long he'll be like this, but if the Ministry gets wind of what he's doing, they'll throw a fit. Hermione, I'm going to need you and Ron to pose as Harry for the next two days under the influence of Polyjuice Potion. I can only hope this will be long enough," Albus said.

"Come Granger, I have two extra vials in my office that I'll send with you back to Gryffindor Tower," Professor Snape said, and walked out of the room briskly.

"Draco, could you find Professor McGonagall for me please? Bring her here, and make sure you aren't followed," Albus instructed. Draco obliged.

Ten Hours...

Harry was beginning to get pains from concentrating so hard now. He had no way of knowing how weak Tom was, and didn't want to lighten up anytime soon, just in case it was a trick from the Dark Lord. Harry knew he was no longer trying to break down the walls, but what he didn't know was if the memories between the two walls were doing what Harry had planned for them to do. He remembered how painful it was for Voldemort at the Ministry when he though of Sirius while being possessed. His main goal now was not to kill Voldemort, but rather to weaken him by inflicting those memories on to him. He felt a slight sense of pride and even revenge in what he was doing. He was showing Tom that, even after all he had done to Harry, Harry had still had good times, and still had people that loved him.

Harry had carefully selected all the memories that he put in the small sphere. The first was the memory of Molly hugging him and rocking him after he returned from the Third Task. The second was the memory of how Harry felt every time he received letters from Snuffles over the next year. After that was the memory of how he felt when he went to Grimmauld Place for Christmas. He had debated about this one for some time before finally putting it in there. He wasn't sure if Voldemort would know where the place was or not, but after a brief mental debate with himself, he decided to put it in; after all, the house was still under the Fidelius Charm. The last and most recent memories were that of him and Draco, making love and just kissing. The emotion that surged through those sessions was like none he had ever felt before. They would be the ones that would cause the most damage.

***

"How is he?" Snape asked after he reached the room.

"Exactly the same. Poppy cast a few spells to keep his temperature down and put a cooling charm around his head to ease the pain, but he'll have to bring himself out," Albus said gravely. He had yet to leave Harry's side since Hermione had come for him.

"Why do you think he's doing this?" Snape asked.

"Last term, Tom tried to possess Harry. It worked, actually... it was just after my duel with Voldemort in the Ministry. He only stayed for a minute, because Harry did something that drove Tom out," Albus said.

"What did he do?" Snape said, almost on the verge of disbelief. Potter had been horrible at Occlumency last term. He couldn't believe that the boy could drive the Dark Lord out after only a minute.

"He thought of Sirius, Severus. When Harry felt love for his Godfather, Voldemort couldn't bear it, and released Harry."

"So you think that's what he's doing now? You think he's trapped the Dark Lord in his mind and is forcing him to experience the memories and feelings of love?" Severus asked, astonished. Though he would really never admit it to anyone, the boy surprised him to no end. He had already accomplished many great feats in his life. One of the biggest, as Severus saw it, was becoming a master of Occlumency over a summer holiday. It had taken himself years to train to his present level.

"Indeed I do, Severus. I only hope Harry can keep everything under control until Voldemort is too weak to fight back, and Harry can just place him back into his mind," Albus said.

"Headmaster, I received an owl from Lucius. He wants me to brew the Mind-Worm Potion. Right now, the Death Eaters just think the Dark Lord is trapped in his own mind. They have no idea that Harry brought the Dark Lord into his. What do you wish for me to do?" Severus asked, looking at Harry's pale form. The Mind-Worm Potion was made for those who had mild cases of damage from the Cruciatus Curse.

"Do you think the Worm will be strong enough to travel between the links, and bring Tom back?" Albus asked.

"It depends on how strong I make it," Severus said. A very potent batch could indeed bring him back, but a weak batch will not. Do you want me to risk trying? We don't know yet how hard the boy is working to keep the Dark Lord at bay. If we let Lucius send the worm in, it may break Potter's concentration, and give the Dark Lord the chance to either escape or possess him."

"Do what you think is best, Severus. But first, I want you to help me to conduct an experiment," Albus said gravely.

Fourteen hours...

Harry was beginning to feel the mental fatigue. It wasn't too exhausting, but enough to give him a slight headache. Determined and stubborn, he didn't let Tom out. He wouldn't; not until Tom was so weak that he could not fight, once Harry went to return him to his own body.

***

"Do you think this wise, Headmaster?" Snape asked.

"We must know if Harry is still strong enough to resist the Worm. If not, he'll need to let Tom go back; we can't risk your cover being blown because you didn't administer the potion," Albus said.

"Just because it worked between you and me, doesn't mean it will work with the boy. He may be too weak to even have you there, Albus," the potions master said.

"I'll lend all the support I can when I'm in," Albus replied. "That will help him keep the walls up. If I'm in for more than ten minutes, that means I'm going to have to stay until the Worm has worn off or retreated. I'll come back immediately to assist you if he thinks he can ward off the Worm by himself." He stood up and conjured a couch-type bed just beside Harry's glass coffin, and leaned over it. He looked deeply into Harry's green orbs, and began to feel as if he were traveling through water. He began to probe a bit, but not too much, so as to not upset Harry's concentration.

***

Harry could feel an invasion in his mind, though this one was familiar. He surfaced a bit, making sure not to disrupt his walls, and saw that Albus was performing Legilimency on him. He made a small ripple, just enough to let Dumbledore in, and then closed his mind behind the headmaster.

***

Albus slipped in, and was vaguely aware of Professor Snape catching him and laying him on the bed he had conjured.

"Headmaster?" Harry said.

"How are you, Harry?" Albus said warmly, as he mentally supported Harry in keeping the walls firm and tight.

"I'm fine; why did you perform Legilimency on me?" Harry asked, almost irritated.

"I've come to warn you that Severus has been asked to brew the Mind-Worm Potion for Lucius to administer to Tom. The potion sends out a kind of worm that tries to bring the drinker's mind back to the surface. It is possible for you to fight the worm off until the potion has worn off, but I just wanted to check and make sure that you weren't too tired yet to handle it," Albus explained. "Do you think you can?"

"I have a slight headache, but nothing beyond that," Harry answered.

"Yes, but are you feeling exhausted at all? The worm won't be that strong, Severus has informed me of that; but even if you are just barely feeling tired, it may be all Tom needs to pull your walls down," Albus explained.

"I'm not sure if I can fight it off or not. How long have I been out?" he asked curiously.

"Almost fifteen hours, Harry. If you need me to, I can stay here and lend support until the worm is gone. They are known to be forceful."

"I don't know. Should I let him go now?" Harry asked, beginning to get worried.

"No, don't; he may be weakened, but I don't think he'll be weak enough. I'll stay here and keep the walls up while you fight off the worm. With two of us in here, it should be a bit easier. You guard the link to Tom's mind, and I'll keep the walls as tight as possible," Albus said warmly. Harry couldn't refuse the help; he was very nervous now. What had he gotten himself into?

"Okay, Albus, I'll do what I can," Harry said.

"That's all that I ask. If push comes to shove and we have to let him go, the worm will take him back so fast that I don't think he'll have time to try and possess you. Just try to keep the link shut, okay?" he said. Harry responded by going to the back of his mind where the recess was, and building an additional wall to keep the worm out.

He didn't feel nearly as exhausted as he had before, now that Albus was lending support in holding the walls up; but he feared that Tom might sense the Headmaster's presence, and could try to break though once again.

Seventeen hours...

Harry had never been so grateful for the Headmaster butting in as he was now. There was no way he would have been able to hold this damned worm out and keep Voldemort in at the same time, all by himself. He felt utterly exhausted, and he'd only been defending his mind from the worm for about an hour. It was like trying to keep a giant from walking though a wall of paper.

"How long did you say this will last?" Harry asked Albus weakly.

"Just a bit longer, my boy. Don't give up now, you're almost done. Severus will soon be giving the antidote to Tom," Albus said soothingly.

"Antidote?" Harry asked, confused.

"Yes, the worm can hurt the mind if it is used for too long. Severus will soon give the antidote that will, in effect, kill the worm so as to not harm Voldemort's mind," the headmaster explained with ease. He didn't seem to have to put forth much effort to hold the walls erect.

"Are you not tired?" Harry asked curiously.

"The mind never tires, Harry. You're thinking of your mind as a muscle; you must not do that. Your mind does need rest, but your mind is in a state of relaxation now. Sleep is what rejuvenates the mind, but even then you dream. It isn't activity that exhausts the mind - it's stress. So the best way to keep your mind from tiring is to avoid overly challenging it. You must not put too much effort into what you are doing; if you do, then it becomes a challenge. Remember Harry, this is your mind; anything can happen here if you want it to," the Headmaster explained.

"So, could I also use my imagination in this place?" Harry asked.

"Of course; the mind is much more powerful than any muscle. Have you ever heard the saying 'Mind over Matter?'" Albus asked.

"Several times," Harry answered.

"The expression is not one of Muggle origin, but of wizarding. The walls of steel holding Voldemort in are not controlled by muscle, or even by the steel, but by your mind. Voldemort, I'm sure, knows this, but he can't get out because in your mind, the walls are unyielding. He'd be locked away forever if you wished him to be; but if you were to die, he would be released because your mind would also leave your body. You can hold him, and weaken him if you can; but eventually you'll have to let him go, Harry," the Headmaster wisely said.

"I'll release him at twenty-four hours. I want him to see that even though he's tried to make my life hell, I still have pleasant loving memories," Harry said. "So, if my mind is so strong, could I just will this stupid worm away?" Harry asked.

"In theory, you could; but you have to actually believe that your mind is stronger than the wall, or the worm. You have to completely, with no doubts, believe that your mind can do anything - is an ultimate power, if you will," Albus answered thoughtfully, as if speculating about the theory himself.

"I guess I'll have to work on that another time; but right now, I have to keep working like this to keep it out. I'm not going to break, I'm too stubborn for that," Harry said determinedly. Albus chuckled, but agreed.

Twenty hours...

Harry had already fought the worm until it retreated, or withered away, he wasn't sure which. All he knew was that over the last three hours, the worm had gotten significantly easier to fight off, until at last, Harry no longer had to fight to keep the wall up.

The headmaster had left after the strength of the worm had gotten pretty low. He said he'd come back at twenty four hours in case Voldemort tried to take over Harry's mind, once Harry let him out and put him back in his own body. Harry was somewhat relieved by this. As much as he hated Albus snooping around all the time and insisting everything was his business, he was very gratified that Albus would go to such lengths to help him.

Twenty-four hours...

"I'll be out in a few minutes, and Harry should be waking up then. I can't impress upon you how important it is not to ask Harry questions about what he's done to Voldemort. Harry may need to use this in the future, and if anyone knew how he did it, it could get back to the Dark Lord. Maybe after you have all achieved Occlumency it will be a possibility, but right now, this secret is more important than the prophecy," Albus said. Ron, Neville, Hermione, Ginny, Draco, and Luna all nodded that they understood.

"Severus, if you would be so kind?" he asked, and Snape nodded. The students didn't understand this exchange, but watched instead of questioning them.

Dumbledore leaned over the glass case and looked into Harry's glazed-over orbs. He projected his mind forward into Harry's mind. Like last time, he was vaguely aware that Severus had caught him and lowered him onto the bed. Thank goodness for men like Severus, Albus thought; if it were not for men like him, old men like himself would have very sore bums. He mentally laughed at his small joke.

Harry was waiting ever so patiently for Albus; and when he showed up, he showed no distress at having concentrated his awareness within his own mind for so long. But why should he? Being locked within his mind had only made him more aware of what went on there, or more importantly, what he was capable of. Harry had even made a mental map of what everything in his mind looked like. It was quite complex, a labyrinth actually; but Harry enjoyed the work. After all, there were some people, such as those Tibetan masters, who stayed in this state for days without letting anything outside disturb or interrupt them. Harry wondered if they did the same thing in their minds as Harry did in his.

"Are we ready, Harry?" Albus asked merrily as he contacted Harry.

"Yes; do you think it worked?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, but we're about to find out," he said, as he provided all his support to hold the wall that was behind Voldemort in place, so that if Voldemort took on Harry, Harry's thoughts and memories would still be his own.

"Okay," Harry said as he took the first wall down to release Tom. He was surprised when Tom did nothing. His mind was like a zombie's. It just stayed there, like a vegetable.

"It seems he is no threat; but take heed, Harry. Never underestimate him. Take him back to the link and put him in, and close the wall behind him," Albus instructed. Harry complied. He moved (with his mind, of course) Voldemort's mind back to the link, and pushed him slightly through. He then quickly built a wall behind it for safe measure, and waited until he could feel that Tom had traveled the length of the link and into his own territory.

"Is the wall built, Harry?" Albus asked.

"Yes sir," he answered and made his way back to the surface of his mind, where he would bring himself out of his Occlumency state and put Albus back in his own head. He mentally laughed at the way that sounded. "One minute," Harry mentally commented to Albus as he surfaced.

He felt slightly dizzy when he first came out of his own mind, but paid it no attention as he sat up. Around him his friends sat with what looked like anticipation. Harry gave Ron a reassuring half-smile before he stood, a bit shakily, and climbed over the glass case to the small bed Albus was lying on. He leaned over the old man and looked into Albus' untwinkling eyes. He probed the old man's mind - half curious what memories it held, half scolding himself for wondering. He felt Albus slide along the link Harry created and back into his own mind. Albus' eyes fluttered for a second, then he grinned at Harry.

"Well, my boy," he said, sitting up, "I guess your little adventure was a success. Make no mistake, though: next time Tom may be more prepared. There are many potions besides the Mind Worm that may be used to harm someone mentally. Make sure myself or Severus are present if you are to ever do that again," Albus said. Harry was slightly surprised that neither the headmaster, nor Severus, had argued with him, or tried to punish him in some way. Well, he thought logically, what are they going to punish me for? Toying with Voldemort via my own mind? He grinned at this.

Last Edit: 03/12/2004

Thanks David305