The Iridescent Conclusion

When Harry awoke, he found himself in the hospital wing with Draco sleeping in the bed beside him. For a moment, he recalled a time when he had woken to find that Draco’s throat had almost been ripped out and the blond youth was lying under Snape’s stasis spell. But looking over at him now, he saw that his friend was fine and realised that Draco had simply spent the night here to be close to him.

Turning his head then, Harry found a sealed letter beside him and with a vague sense of trepidation, he broke the seal and unfolded the page.

*~*~*

‘Harry, please!’ Draco cried silently, racing after him as he tore through the corridors, caring nothing for whomever he might wake in the process. It was early still; the sun hadn’t yet risen and the corridors were dim and shadowy. From behind him, came the fading flickering light from the letter, which had spontaneously combusted almost before Harry had finished reading it. ‘Harry, this is no good! You should take a minute to think about his!’

But his only response was the sound of Harry’s footsteps on the stairs leading down to the dungeons and the constant purr of magic that had simmered on the air since Harry had read Severus’ letter.

‘Severus, I really hope you know what you’ve done.’ He started to say, casting the thought ahead of himself as he ran to keep up.

His call was drowned however as Harry reached the Potion master’s door and began to hammer on it with his fists.

“SEV! SEV! You didn’t mean it! You swore! SNAPE! You BASTARD!!!” Harry shouted ferociously. Drawing back his right arm, he threw a heavy punch at the door that made Draco wince in sympathy for the pain it must have caused. The door, however, remained unmarked, save for a smear of blood.

As if the sight of his own blood angered him even further, Harry began to rain blows upon the door with a fury.

‘Harry, don’t do this. Please. Look at yourself – this is futile and pretty soon, we’re going to have everyone down here with us!’ Draco pleaded. Already, he could hear stirrings within the Slytherin common room, down the corridor.

‘Severus Snape, you told me you loved me! You swore it!’ Harry screamed silently. Then, drawing a breath, he summoned Caramon with such force that it drove Draco to his knees with a silent yell of surprise. And as Harry began to invoke a spell to – oh gods! – to explode the door off its hinges, so Draco heard the same eerie cadence to Harry’s voice. It was almost like an echo, as if someone was saying the spell at the same time as Harry.

“Stor a ventiir, sooros aanen mia vo porto!”

The spell released, struck the door and hung, shimmering for a moment before being absorbed somehow by the wards. And still Severus didn’t come out.

“Harry!”

Snapping his head round to stare upwards from his position on his knees, Draco saw the Headmaster striding quickly down towards them.

“My dear boy, this is no way to behave at six o’ clock in the morning – or at any time, for that matter.” Dumbledore said, speaking calmly but firmly. He went to take Harry’s arm but Harry rebuffed him with a snarl and crackle of magic.

“SEVERUS!” Harry hollered then, “You evil, bastard liar – GET OUT HERE NOW!”

“What in blue hell is going on?” Sirius demanded then, appearing at the top of the steps with Remus and Professor McGonagall. “Harry?”

“Albus, we have to stop him.” Professor McGonagall said needlessly, “He’s going to hurt himself in a minute.”

“Minerva, I’m trying,” Dumbledore bit out impatiently and cast a body bind hex at Harry but he shrugged it off like an old winter cloak.

At that point, seeing that Harry was already bloodied from thundering on Snape’s door with his fists, Sirius growled an oath and marched forward to seize his godson physically by the shoulders. At once, he grimaced with intense pain but hung on until Harry turned his head and met his eyes.

“Don’t interfere,” he said with deadly calm and Sirius staggered back.

His hands were blackened and charred from the magic surrounding Harry but he paid them no mind. “There’s someone else in there with him,” he said shakily to Dumbledore, indicating Harry with a nod of his head. “Voldemort, maybe…”

Professor McGonagall gasped and Draco sprang to his feet to push closer to Harry.

‘Harry, is that you? Or are you even in there?’ he asked silently, hoping that this new information would bring Snape out of his quarters. The Potions master was in there, he could sense him; the man was pacing back and forth, wracked with guilt, pain and remorse.

The bright green eyes fixed on Draco’s face and a little smile curved his lips. “Draco Malfoy,” he said as if surprised to see him there. “Of course,” he added, “you would want to be close to dear Harry, wouldn’t you?”

“Leave him, Tom.” Dumbledore commanded then, stepping as close as he could with his wand held aloft, “There is nothing you can do here. Whatever it is you intend, I will stop you!”

“I wanted Severus,” Harry said, speaking with Voldemort’s echo. “I followed Potter’s magic back to its source and went along for the ride. He really does love our dear Severus, you know, Dumbledore. You should pay closer attention to the needs of those in your care.”

‘Sev won’t come out,’ Draco said, lifting his chin defiantly. ‘He can hear you and knows now that it isn’t just Harry calling him.’

Harry smiled again and his eyes glinted with malice. “Then we’ll have to try something new.”

Before any of them could stop him – even if there had been a way – Harry pressed his hands over his own heart and muttered, “Mya timeron, incendria!”

Immediately, he was engulfed in blue flames. Professor McGonagall shrieked, Sirius shouted and Dumbledore leapt forward but it was no good. Only Severus, who wrenched open his door and stared in horror at the screaming, writhing boy before him, was able to save him.

“Incendria extin naa voro!” The Dark magic dropped like a blanket over Harry who fell to the floor with a thud. The air was filled with the sickening stench of burned flesh and it took the combined will of all of them to keep him alive long enough for Remus to summon Madam Pomfrey.