A Bond for the Ages

Chapter 29

Translations:
[English text] Paidí = [Greek text] Παιδί = Child

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Harry frowned at the soft blue glow in front of him, drawn to it for reasons he still didn't understand. Something about the orb called to him, and he could feel a strange power rolling off the orb. He gazed around, finding nothing but darkness, though he could feel there was other stuff around him. He was not in a large empty room and, he realized, he was not alone. He could feel someone on either side of him, but when he looked, it was only black. He couldn't even make out a vague outline. He even reached out, but his hand passed through nothing, making him frown. He knew someone was there.

The orb pulsed and he looked back at it, distracted immediately from whoever stood next to him. He stared, entranced, at the orb, watching the glow dim just enough for him to see the cloudy blue swirling inside. It was pulling at him, drawing him in, tugging on his magic like the last time. This, whatever it was, belonged to him and he had to have it. Something about it was extraordinarily important, and it connected him to whoever stood next to him.

He found himself distracted from the orb by odd indecipherable muffled sounds from various directions around him. He slowly spun around, trying to see through the impenetrable darkness, to find the sources of the noises. He frowned as he felt something pressing in around him, felt something or many somethings moving around swiftly in the space. He could feel the presences, a mixture of intents, but he could see nothing. There was nothing but muffled sounds he couldn't place or identify and odd rushing around him. Wherever he was, something was going on and it had to do with him, whoever was beside him still, and the orb.

What felt like a spell flew past his face over his shoulder and he spun, watching it hit the orb in strange horror.

"A bond for the ages..."

He was blinded by the orb's glow growing, filling the space and forcing him to shield his eyes. Everything and everyone that had been around him disappeared, only to be replaced by the graveyard. The blue glow faded into the flash of green that haunted him and he screamed for Cedric, reaching out for the dead boy. He choked on sobs as he stared into the empty eyes.

"Fight back!" Voldemort shouted.

He fell to the ground, writhing at the fire licking his bones and nerves. He screamed with the agony, hot tears streaking his cheeks. He wanted it to stop, desperate for an end regardless of what that end might be. The curse lifted, leaving him heaving and twitching as he slumped on his front. He had little reprieve, however, as a new rush of pain exploded across his back, drawing yet another cry from him.

"I will have you no longer, freak!" Vernon yelled, cracking the belt across Harry's back again.

Harry sobbed violently, praying for it to end. He just wanted to be free, to be safe for once in his life. He felt the blood pour from his back and his thoughts grew hazy.

"Help me," he whispered, the most unexpected face drifting through his mind.

Then it stopped and, instead of blood soaking his clothes, it was frigid, salty water. Realizing the pain had stopped, Harry opened his eyes, blinking against the water spray as he stared at the tall, sharp stone tower that sat on the jagged island across the rough, dark water. He watched as dark shapes he knew to be Dementors swirled in a mass above the prison while thick clouds of black smoke rushed around and through the stone. Every time smoke ripped through the prison, chunks of stone went flying.