Saturday, January 07, 2006
Chapter 19
The Curse of the Phoenix
"I told you, you'll need the luck." Malfoy drawled as he let out a smirk from the corner of his thin lips. Too stunned for words Harry shouted out the first words which came into his mind. "You're the most disgusting creature that ever walked the face of this earth, Malfoy. Don't you think for one bit that I don't know what you're up to. You think I couldn't tell? You think I didn't know that you had something to do with Lodina's disappearance right after the second task? I know you had something to do with it Malfoy. Out with it now!" Harry burst out in rage, his wand pointing directly at Draco's chest. "Now now Potter, didn't Dumbledore teach you any manners? Is that the way you thank the person who just saved your life? I'd be a tad bit more grateful if I were you, seeing that you were nearly 'chopped liver' where the Gryffin was concerned." Draco's eyes shifted coolly from Harry to the surroundings. "I don't know about you Potter. But from the way I see it, we can either stand here and argue till the dementors come home, or we could battle it out for the Tri-wizard cup with Fleur and Krum. It's your choice really. I'll be hexing you sooner or later so it's fine by me." Draco smirked as he waited for Harry to make his next move.
"Sod off Malfoy." Harry said as he pushed past Draco. He had other things to worry about right now. He decided that he would deal with Malfoy later. He had to overcome the rest of the challenges in the maze and if the Gryffin was a yardstick as to how potentially dangerous the challenges could get, Harry was sure that it would take a miracle to get through all of them. Harry ran through the maze, without looking back to see if Malfoy was closing in on his trail, till he saw a glittery mist in front of him. Harry could hear singing coming from inside the mist. It was calling out to him and it was one of the most beautiful songs he had ever heard. He stepped forward and almost instantly he was engulfed in water! Water was now bursting out of Harry's lungs as he struggled for air until he felt a hand pull him up from the mass of water below. He was now face to face with a beautiful Siren. For a moment Harry stood mesmerized by the Siren's beauty. He finally snapped back to reality when the Siren spoke to him in a sing-song fashion. "You handsome young lad, lean in closer so that I can take a better look at you." Harry obliged. How could he refuse such a pristine and beautiful creature? He was now so close that he could feel the Siren's eye lashes on his cheek. The Siren was pulling in for a kiss as she wrapped her cold fingers round Harry's neck. This sent a shiver down Harry's spine as he finally realised what was happening to him. He was falling into a trance. Harry had remembered Moody's lecture on the Siren's kiss. The kiss of the Siren would place anyone in a deep hypnotic trance. There was only one spell that would render the Siren powerless for a few minutes so that the witch or wizard could escape. Trying hard to fight the Siren's magnetic beauty, Harry lifted his wand and aimed at her chest as he said, "Transmorgia!" The Siren flinched at this and released her grip on Harry. Quickly, Harry got past the Siren and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. 'Thanks Professor Moody.' Harry muttered sarcastically as he checked his bearings and continued to run deeper into the maze.
~-~
Draco watched Harry disappear into the thick fog of the maze. He set out for the opposite direction as he did the four-point spell to check his bearings. He should be approaching Snape's challenge anytime now. Snape had told Draco how to get past his challenge of course. Snape, as much as the other Slytherins, had wanted a Slytherin victory for the Tri-wizard Tournament. 'It's amazing what the Malfoy charm and a lil' bit of Slytherin pride can get you.' Draco smirked once more as he came to a clearing in the maze. There was a table on top of which lay five vials containing different potions. There were six pixies gaurding the vials. Draco saw the blue flames which led to the fastest route to the Tri-wizard cup. He knew what he had to do but he had to endure the formalities of listening to the instructions by the pixies all the same. He heaved a deep sigh before he moved forwards to the table. "Young sir, behind us lies the route which is the quickest to the centre of the maze. But to get past the 'Flame of Fury' you have to drink the right potion which would bestow upon you the ability to pass through this flame without getting scorched to death. To aid you in your quest to find the correct vial, my five other companions will give u a clue as to what each of these vials contain. But be weary for you have a quarter of an hour to figure out the clues! You may begin!" the pixie finished and fluttered away. 'The second from your right.' Draco thought as he remembered Snape's instructions to him. Without wasting any further time, he motioned towards the pixie which was the second from his right. "If the Mirror of Erised should be of any clue to you, the Potion of Erif may be what you seek." the pixie said as Draco reached for the vial. 'The Potion of Erif eh?' Draco sniggered as he emptied the contents of the vial into his mouth and stepped through the Flame of Fury.
~-~
Harry was running so fast he couldn't think straight. After what seemed like twenty minutes, Harry finally came to a clearing. He couldn't believe his eyes. The cup was glistening in front of him. Harry thought it odd that he had only faced two challenges and yet reached this far so quickly. Brushing that thought aside, Harry moved slowly towards the Cup. Just then, a burst of blue flames exploded from beside the Tri-wizard cup. The flames started to form a sort of entrance. Harry shielded his eyes from the light of the scorching bright flames. To his surprise, a boy walked out of the flames. It was none other than Malfoy! "Surprised Potter?" Draco cocked his head as he sniggered in Harry's direction. Harry rushed forward as if to claim possession of the Cup before Malfoy could place his grubby hands on it. "Slow down Potter." Malfoy chuckled. Harry didn't like the way Malfoy was laughing about all of this. "Do you really think they'd let us have the cup this easily? Here, if you don't believe me, watch this." Draco picked up a twig and flung it at the Cup. Almost instantaneously was flung back and it missed Draco's head by only a few inches. Just then, red flames erupted out of the Tri-wizard Cup. Harry and Draco both stared in awe as they saw Dumbledore's pet Phoenix, Fawkes come out of the Cup. Harry had most definitely not expected this. Dumbledore himself had placed a challenge in the maze?
Phoenixes were extraordinary creatures which were immortal and Harry knew that they possessed a lot of ancient magic. 'But what could a phoenix possibly do to prevent them from getting to the cup?' Harry wondered but his doubt was quickly answered when the phoenix started to cry out loud. The sound was hideous at first and the pair of them, Draco and Harry and covered their ears tightly for fear of getting deaf. However, the cry of the phoenix quickly changed into a song. It was a riddle in fact and a most peculiar riddle it was.
"Come to me young ones and listen to what I have to say,
The end is near but i'm afraid u can't go through, oh nay,Some of us cringe at the sight of it,
And yet, some of us embrace it,
Dementors fear it for they've no happiness,
But fear not for you won't be meeting them unless,
You chant the spell to rid us all,
Of the fear of fear which is their call."
Fawkes finished it's song as it let the last note quaiver. "Go on then Pothead, I'm sure you're itching to say the spell." Draco hissed at Harry. His eyes were now fixed upon Harry's and neither of them said anything to each other for a few moments. "No, we'll both do it. It'll be a Hogwarts victory all the same Malfoy, and as much as I hate sharing first place with you, I think you deserve it just as much as I do." Harry said as he broke free from Draco's piercing gaze. Draco felt a pang of guilt as he agreed to cast the Patronus Charm together with him. 'You have no choice Draco. You're doing what you have to do. Get a grip on yourself!' Draco thought. There was no stopping it now, everything was soon going to come to an end.
~-~
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry and Draco bellowed as their patronuses shot out from their wands towards the phoenix. Harry felt a strange jolt in his wand as he did this. Draco knew that it was time. Slowly, the world swirled in Harry's head and he passed out shortly after that, only to be awoken by none other than Draco Malfoy.
"Wake up Potter. He's here to see you." Draco said as he steadied Harry using his arm. There was something about the way Draco had said 'He' which made Harry's insides churn. Harry looked around him. He wasn't in the maze anymore. In fact, his surroundings very much resembled that of a graveyard. Just then, he caught sight of a cloaked man walking towards them. Harry couldn't make out who the cloaked man was at first, until the figure approached them both. "Well done Draco, my son. He has been expecting us." Lucius Malfoy spoke as he came out from beneath the shadows of the cloak. "You! It was you all along!" Harry spat at Draco as he wriggled and kicked his way out of Malfoy's grip. "You slithering git! I should have known all of this was part of your despicable plan to get on the good books of Voldermort!" Harry fumed. At the mention of the Dark Lord's name, Lucius cut in. "Don't you dare call the Dark Lord by his name Potter. But no matter, you'll pay for your insolence. I'm sure you must be dying to know how you got here..." Lucius was actually smiling when he said this. "The wand of the Dark Lord's and yours contains a feather taken from the same phoenix, Fawkes. When your spell hit Fawkes, the Dark Lord could automatically feel your prescence and thereby summon you to his side. It is true, the Dark Lord can't directly touch you or curse you for that matter. But when you cast that spell on Fawkes today, all that changed. It caused a total reversal of magic. This is ancient magic at it's deepest. The Dark Lord was able to summon you to his side. And now..." Lucius paused as he smirked at Harry. The same Malfoy smirk he'd seen on Draco's face countless number of times. "Now Harry, you'll suffer the wrath of the Dark Lord. For He has overcome all the ancient Love charms your foolish mudblood mother had managed to bestow upon you." He then turned to his son. "Draco, you know what to do." Lucius said as he walked off briskly leaving them alone. "I'm sorry Potter, but this is for your own good." Draco said as he turned his wand at him and whispered, "Stillatus!" Harry felt himself go numb. He couldn't move a single muscle in his body and now he was lying flat on the ground. Thoughts were swirling in his head as Draco's last words to him resonated inside of him. Draco didn't have that usual gleam of vengence in his eyes. In fact, when Harry looked at him, he saw a pair of eyes which had seen lots of sorrow. He could read the emotions in Draco's eyes for he had similarly suffered great losses as well. Harry grew very tired and he let everything slip away, as he passed out beside Draco Malfoy.
**This chapter was inspired by Cissy's enthusiasm for depth and beauty. This post is for you, my fellow Legilimens. ;)
[Tonks was grooving to Sum 41's The Hell Song | 
~famished]
~Nymphadora~
~famished]