Worthy Of Magic

Part 40 - The Truth

Time Unknown - Hogsmeade

Harry's first order of action was getting his wand and notebook. He needed possession to anchor his mind to sanity.

The beautiful walk up to Hogwarts got Harry in a pensive and thoughtful mood.

Humans were hollow without possessions, he thought. They greedily stockpiled material wealth around them in order to avoid the open truth that human beings didn't have a soul. We are only ever looking for it and die in the attempt to find it. A rare few accept that fact and the result of that was what the deluded called enlightened beings.

Am I enlightened?

The change of scenery from hot, dry and yellow, to – cold, snowy and green felt was drastic enough to keep him spell bound with wonder for a few minutes before a small content smile lit his face and he began his trek to the castle.

Harry felt needing possessions was instrumental in holding on to sanity. He wanted to hold on to sanity and attaching the green to material objects felt like the right thing to do.

He felt his understanding of the soul disintegrate and reform into something that felt more Human. He was thinking he had a soul when he knew that was not true. He was a monster without a soul. He was already deluding himself into defining his self. Defining what his soul was.

I feel human.

The sentiment had been growing stronger since his outburst at the source. Rita brought him closer and the escape from the desert pushed him over the line of sanity. At least he felt like it was sanity. He was able to distinguish between his state of mind during the descent in the desert and his state of mind at present.

He missed the desert already.

The state of mind of being a survivor was simple and elegant. Truly experiencing it made Harry swell with happiness. But now he felt like it was time to move on. It was time to understand what magic needed to evolve into and what was his role in the change of era.

Harry pulled the Void closer around him and warmed his body.

The wind had picked up pace and the snow was falling faster. Leaves rustled in their groves and bats flapped around in the dark, looking for sustenance.

Harry frowned. Bats in winter?

He put the growing curiosity at the back of his mind when he finally reached the gates of Hogwarts.

The big iron doors were bent and broken outwards.

Something had been thrown out instead of breaking in.

Harry's survival instincts kicked in and he kept the Void ready for a fight.

The sun had broken free of the night and brightened his path towards the castle. A couple of minutes over the cobblestone path later, the Quidditch hoops came into view and after the last bend in the path, the black lake and Hogwarts came into sight.

His eyes widened at the condition of the grounds outside the castle. There were dozens of blackened holes and broken trees littered all around. He looked closer and realised there were holes in the walls of the castle as well.

In fact, one of the towers looked like it was recently repaired. It's colour of magic looked lighter than the other towers.

He looked up at the now blue sky and saw magic spreading across in the form of runes.

Harry frowned. He couldn't make them out. They were changing form chaotically but he recognised them as similar to the runic structures he had created in his quest to create the desert and her labyrinth. The twist however, was that there was no desert and no labyrinth.