A Bond for the Ages

Chapter 39

Harry frowned as he looked around the black space that encompassed him, punctuated by what he now knew was the light of the prophecy. He'd been brought to this place several times and something about it felt different this time.

The prophecy itself had changed. It was pulling him in even more as though it had grown stronger and was becoming desperate to be claimed. Something had excited it. The power coming from it was strong and warm; it drew him in. It felt like it was going to lead him somewhere...lead him home. He approached the glowing blue orb, feeling its magic wrap around him and wanting to find what it could give him.

"A bond for the ages ... the lost will be found ... a power beyond any the world has seen ..."

It was similar words to the other times the prophecy had spoken, but still different and still incomplete. As he drew closer, the prophecy flickered strangely in a way it never had before. He frowned again and recognized what else seemed different.

He wasn't alone.

That in itself wasn't different. He was normally with others he couldn't see, others he'd learned were Draco and Snape as the prophecy reached for all of them simultaneously. This time, it wasn't them. There was someone new, someone...dangerous.

"You are each other's light," the same voice as the prophecy said, but Harry could tell these words weren't part of the prophecy. "You are each other's salvation. You will guide each other home."

It sounded hopeful, but that hope was dimmed with the prophecy. Harry tensed as he felt a new power slither around him, wrapping around him like a coiling snake and attempting to drive away the magic of the prophecy. He watched as sharp, deep black tendrils reached out through the darkness and began crawling across the orb of the prophecy like bolts of lightning, making it pulse brightly as it fought whatever was trying to consume it.

"I see you!" a voice hissed, echoing around the space.

Harry could do nothing but scream as it felt like he was torn apart from the inside.

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Severus had to hold back his smirk of satisfaction when Dumbledore was unable to conceal his startled jump as he slammed the guardianship certificate on the desk in front of the old man. He watched the blue eyes scan the document before meeting his with no sight of their typical sparkle.

"Severus, what have you done?" Dumbledore said, his tone grave.

Severus cocked an eyebrow. "Me? Well, I've done nothing. Lady Magic, however..." he trailed off, tapping the document where Lady Magic's name was recorded.

"I told you to stand aside," Dumbledore said. "You cannot be this for them."

"Lady Magic disagrees," Severus said. "As do I."

"I cannot allow this," Dumbledore said.

"I'm not sure you have a choice," Severus said. "It is Lady Magic's will."

"That may be, but it will doom our world," Dumbledore said.

"And why is that?" Severus asked. "Because you cannot control them anymore? Or me? Because you can no longer send us to die for the war you helped create?"

The steely look he received was unlike any he'd ever gotten from Dumbledore before and took him aback.

"Because you have put your trust in the wrong people and I cannot trust you not to do so again at the expense of Harry," Dumbledore said coolly.