HA 5d: Peace

HIM AGAIN: Chapter 5: No More - Peace

It had all gone wrong.

Harry was gasping; the air seemed to catch in his throat and not reach his lungs. Reality was a contrast of light and dark - like his life - and there was only the Veil, only the Veil in the whole world. His forehead stabbed with the ghost of pain. He clutched at it, but hands seemed to be holding him, pushing him down-

Voldemort! Yes, that was it, Voldemort and the Killing Curse-

He struggled. He thought he could hear Ginny sobbing, but that was impossible; he was in the Department of Mysteries and she was at home-

Harry gasped. The image pasting itself before his eyes was intolerable, unbearable. The curtain swung back - again and again - and he was calling but Remus was stopping him, stopping him from helping-

“SIRIUS!” he screamed - but the iron grey eyes were blank and empty, and the Veil had engulfed the whole universe.

Now Voldemort was before him, red eyes livid with fury. Rage swept the fear aside. I’ll get you, I’ll get you for all this - you killed my parents-

He could hear their screams and cries again, just like he had with the Dementors. A hook-nosed man now stalked towards him. Snape! He tried to bring his wand up but the hands were still holding him down-

-Dumbledore was falling from the Astronomy Tower, his body curving away from the ghost-green of the Dark Mark, which cried its message of death to the stars - and now he was lying in the grass, his spectacles knocked askew, the blue eyes as vacant as Sirius’s-

“COWARD!” Harry shrieked at Snape but Snape had disappeared. There was darkness and peace. Perhaps I’m asleep, thought Harry.

But no, Voldemort was back again, his wand pointing at Harry’s heart. Avada Kedavra. Harry knew he was going to die - but the statue took the curse instead and hope flared in his chest at the sight of-

“DUMBLEDORE!” he cried - but no, Snape had killed him-

“COWARD, COWARD, COWARD! YOU KILLED HIM, I’LL KILL YOU!”

The hands grabbed at him more tightly. Ginny’s tears were flowing down her beautiful face. Sirius was falling through the Veil again - and now Voldemort was too, but that didn’t change anything-

Harry covered his eyes and moaned. “Peace, peace, please Merlin, peace! No more!”

Harry’s body convulsed. The bedroom was full of the sharp, panicked cries of Healers as they struggled to hold him down. Ginny sat on the bed and wept. Remus handed her a box of tissues, wordlessly. He spun around as Tonks burst in.

“What happened?”

Tonk’s hair had turned as grey as ash to reflect her misery. “Amycus - we were pursuing him through the Ministry - it was a break-in. Harry and the rest of us chased him down in the Veil room and Amycus - he blew one of the new recruits through the Veil.” Her face twitched. “And Harry - Harry just l-lost it.”

Remus turned pale. “Too many memories,” he whispered.

Outside the shut door, Brian Potter - Albus Dumbledore - leant against the wall, his young body trembling. He was glad he wasn’t in the room, watching Harry fit and sob, but the sounds were more than enough.

“SIRIUS!”

That first, tortured shout had been what had woken him up from his afternoon nap. The second shout - “COWARD!” - had been what made him unhitch the side of his cot and clamber out into the hallway. He closed his eyes and covered his face. A nightmare - Harry’s nightmare - had swallowed the whole house.

“DUMBLEDORE! COWARD, COWARD, COWARD! YOU KILLED HIM, I’LL KILL YOU!”

His own name had acted like some sort of bodybind. Paralysis had ensured he’d heard all of Harry’s shouts. A part of him wanted to go in and wrap Harry in his arms. My boy, my boy, I’m here-

Albus felt numb. The truth would destroy Harry; he knew it now.

“Peace, peace, please Merlin, peace! No more!”

He buried his head in his hands. Peace, indeed. Harry would have peace. No more. It was what he wanted too.