Worthy Of Magic

Part 32 - Return of the Rage

Twenty Fourth November Nineteen Ninety-Four

It was before the crack of dawn when Harry opened his eyes. He could hear it. His dreams and the screams. Swirling in a chaotic whirlpool, receding into the vast unknowable desert that was his subconscious.

He tried grabbing at the disappearing thoughts and they slipped past his mental grasp into nothing.

Harry yawned.

His awakening from sleep had been the same for the past six months. Thrilling chaos slipping from his grasp as soon as he woke up.

He took a deep breath and stretched his legs under warm sheets. A moment later he slid out of bed and dragged his feet to the window for a breath of the darkness before dawn.

The first touch of the cool wind against his eyes felt the like the jolt of an enervate charm and the world beyond filtered through his eyes.

It was pure darkness. A new moon night. Save for the candles dimly lighting the inside the dorm, it was a void that controlled the night. Peering into its heart was awe-inspiring.

A moment later the darkness was split apart by a line of blue and dawn arrived with breath-taking grandness.

The day of the first round of the duelling tournament had arrived and Harry was excited to see the duels just like the rest of the school. A stage were wizards and witches fought with magic to win? The idea fit into his view of the world like skin over flesh.

Harry grinned as he thought about the contestants. If there was one participant he was curious to see wield magic, it was Hitomi Murasaki. Magic flowed through her heavier than most. If magic looked like air in others, it looked like sludge in her. There was a thickness to it that Harry didn't understand and magic that he didn't understand fascinated him.

Feeling refreshed and wide awake, Harry gathered his school robes, neatly ironed and placed on his school trunk by the house elves who kept the school from falling apart. Harry hadn't encountered one so far but he knew they existed and were overseen by overseer and caretaker - Filch.

Half an hour later, he was dressed, washed and presentable. He cut a forgettable image in clean black robes above which sat long solemn face attached to a thin neck. His neat black hair that was kept respectably neat and pushed to one side revealing a pale lightning shape scar. The nurse had insisted on cutting it after the yearly physical examination. Harry hadn't protested. It didn't bother him whether his hair was long or short or not there at all.

He headed down to the great lake for a walk and noticed the red robed shadow that took position at a respectable distance from him.

Harry scowled.

The Aurors never gave up. He resisted the desire to turn around and slam that tall weak wizard into the wall until he was a beautiful shade of red.

His mood appropriately darkened, Harry stepped out of the castle as the grand entrance doors swung open without prompting. Hogwarts always opened its door for students. It was the professors who made the rules.

Harry smiled. Magic - pure and untainted was always a joy to be around and Hogwarts was filled to the brim with it. It was why he could call Hogwarts a home.

He strolled towards the lake amidst the glow of morning. Mist hung low over the green grass and thickened as his eyes trailed towards the forbidden forest. The knowledge of the red cloak behind him stayed his desire to return to his desert and instead he had settled under his favourite tree closest to the lake.

It felt like peace.

For a moment Harry entertained the idea of returning to the desert, the real desert. He contemplated leaving behind this life and embracing the harshness of the desert and magic. A year ago, he would have done it. He would have acted on his whims and fancies without second thought. But now, after all that had happened, he couldn't do it. He had a dream to fulfil now. A vision forged by the hands of those clawing at him... pulling on his skin... trying to change his colours. And after his green was activated, he had discovered ambition as well. The Will needed to change Dreams into Reality.