Wednesday, June 2, 2004

Excerpt from SOBV
For all of those people who love Harry Potter, here's chapter four of 'Harry Potter and the Secret of the Black Veil,' my fic. If you like this, leave a comment and I'll let you know where you can find the rest.

Chapter Four - Avada Kedavra

Harry yelled and ducked as a pillow came swinging his way. Laughing maniacally, Remus advanced on Harry and swung the pillow again, only to have himself smacked on the head by the pillow in Harry’s hands. Having realized the truth that Sirius was, indeed, alive, the two had wanted nothing more than to jump around in glee. They had soon found themselves in the midst of a pillow fight. Harry yelled as he jumped off his bed and threw the pillow at Remus, who ducked just in time.

They heard and “oof” behind Remus, and both stopped and turned to look. Standing in the doorway to the room was a glaring Mad-Eye Moody. He scowled at them and then growled out, “What do you two think you’re doing?” He then proceeded to give them a lecture, explaining (quite thoroughly) about how he heard screaming and laughter and thought that Death Eaters were attacking.

When he was finally done scolding them, he turned around to go back outside. Harry and Remus looked at each other, and both grinned mischievously, as Marauders tend to do. This, however, earned them yet another lecture from moody, who had seen them grinning through the back of his own head. Remus reluctantly followed Moody back outside, leaving Harry to clean up his extremely messy bedroom.

HA! As if he cared.

Harry lay on his bed not long after, staring at the ceiling. In just one night, so many things had happened. He had learned that Sirius actually wasn’t dead, and he had learned this from his parents, no less, who were able to visit him in his dreams.

Harry smiled. It was wonderful, knowing he could talk to his mom and dad any time he slept, and knowing that soon he’d be able to see Sirius again. But how were they going to rescue him? What was the veil like? What lay in store for him? And what about the prophecy? As all these questions and thoughts swirled throughout his mind, Harry drifted off to sleep, into a dream that wasn’t a dream…

“Mom! Dad!” Harry called. “I’m back!” The air around Harry began to shimmer and he suddenly found himself in a very familiar place. Harry paled and took a step back. “The Department of Mysteries? Why am I here?”

“We brought you here, Harry,” said a familiarly kind voice.

Harry turned and saw her beautiful face. “Why, Mom?”

“You have wondered what lies beyond the veil,” she said quietly. “It is filled with things that cause hate, pain, and fear. Full of lies and hurt. You have to be prepared to face your worst fears, Harry.”

“But I’ve done that,” said Harry. “I faced the Dementors in my third year, and the Boggart.”

“Yes, but much has happened since your third year,” said his father. “You must be prepared to face fears that a Boggart cannot imitate, and you must be able to discern illusion from reality, for in the veil, they look much the same.”

“We brought you here to help you, Harry,” said Lily. She held out her hand. “Come with us, Harry. We will help you prepare to rescue Sirius.”

Harry hesitated for only a moment, and then extended his hand and clasped onto his mother’s. “I would do anything to rescue Sirius,” he whispered.

A hissing voice replied, “I know.”

Harry was pulled forward by and unseen force and felt himself falling...falling…falling…

Into the veil.

Harry opened his eyes and stood up. Around him there was nothing but darkness, but then an evil cackle erupted and green light flickered throughout the darkness. Where it was coming from, Harry could not tell, but he recognized the laughter. It could only belong to one person: Voldemort.

Harry spun around, realizing he was alone. He knew it hadn’t been his mother and father who had greeted him this time. His mother and father wouldn’t put him into a danger like this. Not when there was a chance that Voldemort could find a way to get to him. Was a dream any different than a reality? Was this Voldemort nothing but a nightmare – an illusion?

Did he dare wonder?

“Voldemort!” Harry yelled, stepping forward as bravely as he could. “Show yourself!”

The cackling stopped, as did the green flashes of light. Harry wondered momentarily if it might all have been an illusion. And then, from behind him, “Potter!”

Harry spun around to face the demonic being he knew resided in the darkness, at his back. As he spun around, he met Voldemort’s cruel, red eyes, and watched the familiar words form on his lips. “Avada Kedavra!”

A green light enveloped Harry, his scar seared with an unbelievable pain, and Harry screamed.

*****

Three loud cracks sounded in the room on the second floor of Number 4 Privet Drive.

The Dursley’s had gone out to a movie, and Harry had been alone in the house, sleeping. Moody had checked on him an hour before. However, when a scream erupted throughout the silence of the night, the three members of the Order – two Aurors and a werewolf – were suddenly holding their wands in their hands and standing in the room where the Boy-Who-Lived now lay, screaming in what could only be absolute agony.

Remus was immediately at Harry’s side, but the tone of the boy’s screaming nearly made him retreat, as it painfully made his sensitive ears throb. Remus watched in worry as Harry writhed on his bed, his hands clamped over his scar. His mouth was opened in a scream that was going on and on.

“Harry?” asked Remus, his voice full of worry. “Harry?”

Suddenly, Harry’s mouth snapped shut, and silence filled the room. Then, his arms went limp and fell away from his face. Remus felt a lump jump into his throat as he saw Harry’s face.

Harry lay completely motionless on his bed as his eyes gazed up at the ceiling, as green as the light cast by the Avada Kedavra curse.

Remus collapsed to his knees at the side of Harry Potter’s bed. He felt the stinging of tears behind his eyes and did nothing to stop them from rolling down his cheeks. “No…” he whispered, trying to deny seeing that his best friend’s son lay before him on his bed, having drawn his last breath, far from long after he drew his first. “No…not Harry…”

Comments (1)