Circle of Darkness

Circle of Darkness- part 5

~For so long my life´s been sewn up tight inside your hold
And it leaves me there without a place to call my own~

The squeal of tires and grating sound of metal on metal drew the attention of many. All traffic came to a standstill as people rushed to their windows and doors to see what the commotion was. All eyes rested on the far too perfect house with its perfect yard and perfect family standing in the doorway. They observed this scene with snorts of disgust, before they allowed their eyes to travel away from the little house to the wreck standing in contrast to the perfect home. Shock was evident on everyone´s face. Some panicked while others remained calm, rushing to the nearest phone to call for help.

It was by far the worst crash this area had ever seen. Four vehicles destroyed to the point of being recognition. The flawless paint jobs where splattered with crimson splotches and decorated with slivers of glass that glittered in the sunlight. Each sliver refracting the light like a crystal prism, splaying hundreds of tiny rainbows over everything as if the colors where attempting to hide the horror from the world. The rainbows danced in the sunlight, casting their majestic pattern in a circle around a single form in mockery.

~I know now what shadows can see
There's no point in running 'less you run with me
It's half the distance through the open door
Before you cut me down
Again
Let me introduce you to the end~

Miss. Figg stood frozen for an instant in awe, as she gazed upon the circle of light surrounding The-Boy-Who´s-About-To-Die. She´d been working out front in her muddy garden when she was alerted the activity on the street. She looked up in time to see Harry Potter- the boy she was charged to keep an eye on by Albus Dumbledore, be dragged underneath a second car. She rose to her feet quickly rushing down the street to aid the boy. By the time her elderly body had made it, there was no noise say for a baby´s cry. Harry lay to the side of the wreck, seemingly dead. As Miss. Figg continued to stare in shock, red rose petals drifted from above, slowly riding the soft breeze to rest on Harry´s prone body. The light shifted, hitting the glass shard in Harry´s chest. An intense light sparked to life forcing everyone to shield his or her eyes.

Figg was forced out of her trance by the light. When she looked up again her eyes followed the trial of rose petals to their source; a beefy hand that led to the bloated form of Dudley Dursley. Dudley held a basket of flower petals in one hand and was prancing around on his tiptoes, casting the flowers out in a sick imitation of a flower girl at a wedding; or, the fading sunset scene in a sappy romance story, where the hero rides off with his damsel into the sunset.

"DUDLEY DURSLEY! Just what do you think you are doing?" cried the elder. That was just sick!

Dudley grinned before running off to the safety of his home. `Already dancing on his cousins grave. Poor Harry, not even cold with death and already they´re rejoicing.´ She looked back to Harry kneeling next to him. `Why Dumbledore ever left you here, is a mystery to me. I don´t buy all those protection spells. There´s got to be more to it.´ She reached out a shaking hand towards the prone figures neck to check for a pulse and almost jerked back in surprise when Harry opened his eyes. "By Merlin!" Miss Figg hissed with horror.

~And I feel the cold wind blowing beneath my wings
It always leads me back to suffering
But I will soar until the wind whips me down
Leaves me beaten on unholy ground again~

Vernon swiped at Harry as the boy bolted from the kitchen, but Harry had been swifter and left Vernon grasping air. Vernon Dursley spun around, still cradling his injured chest with one hand as he followed slowly behind the fleeing boy. He made it to the doorway, overlooking the knife that lay at his feet. His eyes were fixed on Harry as he leapt into the street right in front of a speeding car.

Vernon was overcome with emotions. On one hand, this was the best thing that could happen to his family. Maybe the boy would be killed and out of their misery forever. On the other hand, it was a shock to witness the events taking place. Harry was still human after all, and it seemed a cruel fate for a boy so young. Vernon´s heart quickly hardened against any sympathy he may have been feeling, when the entanglement of cars was forced back up the road by a large moving truck that had just rounded the corner. All three ended up crashing into his own vehicle that was pulled onto the street while his driveway was getting repaved.

He rushed forward, worried about his car. His son, who´d followed him to the door when Harry ran, took one look at Harry running in front of the car and raced back in the house smiling. He returned now, rushing ahead of his seething father over to Harry and an old woman. Those few who´d witnessed the accident were to far away to see the injured boy shrouded by the two adults and the events taking place between them. They did not see Dudley´s idea of a joke with the rose petals or Miss Figg, the old lady from across the street, pull a shard of glass from Harry´s body. But Vernon did. He saw everything.

He watched as his son raced back into the house giggling. It sickened Vernon to know that his son was that cruel. Even he wouldn´t have stooped so low. He watched Miss Figg as she focused solely on his nephew. Harry´s eyes were open, much to Vernon´s horror- and he was mumbling. It was hard to hear the words but Vernon was just able to make them out.

~So tired now of paying my dues
I start out strong but then I always lose
It's half the distance before you leave me behind
It's such a waste of time~

"Please, f-forgive me, God. I k-killed more p-people t-today. P-please, don´t turn m-my s-soul away. I´m sorry. I d-didn´t mean for it to h-happen. I j-just want to die, God. Please...s-someone, k-k-kill me." Harry´s voice trailed off into silence, blood pooling from the sides of his mouth.

The crowd had started to grow as gossip spread. Curious, worried, and people with nothing better to do then get in the way, crowed around. Miss. Figg stood up her eyes meeting Vernon´s; for a moment they stood there staring, not saying a word. Hate was burning in both their eyes, but for different reasons. The distant sound of sirens drew their attention away from each other; Vernon headed back into his house leaving Harry alone, to the shock of many. Miss Figg silently slipped into the crowd unnoticed.

~'Cause my shackles
You won't be
And my rapture
You won't believe
And deep inside you will bleed for me~

Harry couldn´t be moved at first. The paramedics had to find a way to slow the bleeding and splint some of Harry´s broken limbs before they could even attempt to move him onto a stretcher. In the meantime, the rescue team worked to remove the other victims from the damaged vehicles.

Harry was surprisingly conscious but unresponsive. He was oblivious to the world around him until a familiar face stood over him gaping with horror. "Harry, your eyes!!!!"

~So here I slave inside of a broken dream
Forever holding on to splitting seams
So take your piece and leave me alone to die
I don't need you to keep my faith alive~

Harry blinked a few times, trying to bring his fading, bloody vision into focus. "Her-mi-ione? The b-baby?" he mumbled. Talking was too much of an effort; the attempt left him breathless.

"Is fine," the she reassured him.

The ghost of a smile appeared on Harry´s lips as his eyes fluttered closed, his heart stopping.

~I know now what trouble can be
And why it follows me so easily
It's half the distance through the open door
Before you shut me down
Again
Let me introduce you to the end~

A startled gasp from the front seat drew my attention forward. I looked out the front window to see a boy fall onto the pavement in front of us. We didn´t have time to stop, Grandpa slammed on his breaks but the other car hit us and we spun. We crashed into the boy pulling his body beneath us. I listened as he rolled underneath my seat. Tears filled my eyes. For this wasn´t just any boy. It was my best friend, Harry Potter and I was certain we´d just killed him.

I quickly removed my seat belt and looked behind us. I almost cried with joy when I saw Harry was still alive; but he was pulled beneath the other car again. We were spinning so fast, I lost my balance and was thrown to the floor, my baby brother started to cry. I looked up to see that he was still alright. The other car had hit us on his side; luckily, the car seat was facing backwards and made of steel. They held up better then the plastic ones.

We hit something else and came to a sudden stop, my window exploding inward, showering me with glass. My door was crushed in and I barely moved my head in time to avoid it killing me while raising my arms up to shield my face from the glass. When it was over, I sat up slowly. My arms throbbed from the deep cuts but nothing life threatening. I quickly checked on my brother. I undid the car seat and pulled him from it, holding him safely in my arms as much to calm him as to reassure myself. I held him close as I leaned forward into the front seat.

~Though you know you care~

"Grandma, Grandpa, are you okay? What happened?" I pulled back with a gasp, my hand flying to my mouth. I felt sick. I´d only gotten a glance but I could see that my grandparents were dead. The front end of the car had crumpled inward, crushing and pinning their legs. The ceiling was caved in partway and ripped open. Pieces of the windshield were sticking out of their bodies, burrowed so deeply on their faces that there was nothing left. A large pipe had come through the side door and into grandpa´s middle. It had killed them. I´d lost my grandparents and my best friend in the same moment. There was nothing I could do, so I cried. I cried until they pulled me from the car and took my brother from me. I only stopped when I saw Harry was still alive but his eyes, his poor eyes. Then he was gone too. My world stopped. I fainted.

~And my laughter
You won't hear
The faster
I disappear
And time will burn your eyes to tears~