The fire devoured Quirrell's body, reducing it to ash. The black flames consumed everything in their path and as they burned the oppressive aura around Harry started to fade slowly. The ancient and evil presence that suffocated Ron and Hermione seemed to retreat.
Ron and Hermione watched in a mixture of fear and awe. As the last of Quirrell's ashes scattered to the ground, Elythral disappeared from Harry's grip, his hand relaxing as his tears started flowing freely. His grey eyes were fading slowly with the tears. He slowly walked towards his lifeless body and knelt down beside him, his hands trembling as he gently strokes his neck.
Harry whispered, his voice cracking. "I'm sorry, Lumos... I'm so sorry. I should've protected you... I should've been there."
His tears fell on Lumos silver coat. He gripped his fur tightly as if trying to bring him back to life. He had again let someone die, even when he had the power to save him, he couldn't.
It was as if he was living all those worst memories from his past life again. Again he was helpless. Even when he had the power to save him, he still couldn't.
Ron and Hermione, both with tear-streaked faces, slowly approached Harry. They exchanged a glance as they were still not sure of what they should do. However Ron, felt the need to comfort his friend. He may have used dark magic but it was only because Quirrell or Voldemort had killed Lumos.
Ron kneeled beside Harry, his hand on his shoulder "Mate... it's not your fault. You... you couldn't have known this would happen."
Hermione too knelt down beside Harry, tears freely flowing from her eyes. "We're so sorry, Harry... Lumos knew how much you loved him. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself..."
Harry couldn't stop his sobs. ".. he didn't deserve this..."
Hermione gently stroke Harry's hair, her own tears falling freely. "None of us did... but you can't blame yourself Harry. There was no way you could have known..."
Harry's tears didn't stop... yet something was changing again. In his mind, all he could think about was reviving Lumos no matter what the cost. Without fully realizing it, Harry's magic began to surge, spiraling out of control. The barrier he had casted earlier shattered
Suddenly his body suddenly goes limp, which alarmed Ron and Hermione. Ron caught him just in time, but the next moment, a wave of magical energy surged from Harry, washing over the them.
Unlike the oppressive, dark aura from before, this energy felt different— vibrant, almost life-giving, yet sad. It was as if the very essence of life and death had merged together.
Ron and Hermione exchanged an uncertain look as they felt this energy. Before they could react further, Harry's body stiffened, he stood up, though it didn't feel like Harry at all. His eyes were unsettling— one dark grey like before but the other one now gleamed with a strange, golden light.
He looked at Ron and Hermione, his expression unreadable, as if it was not him who was looking through but someone else. Both of them felt a shiver down their spines.
Harry's— or rather, the entity within him—voice was calm, yet filled with authority. "Watch over your friend, for his powers are beginning to touch the barrier of what should be allowed and what should not."
Ron and Hermione felt their hearts pound as they tried to process the meaning behind the words. The entity raised Harry's hand and looked at it, "He is not ready," it murmured. Then with a gentle motion, he tapped both Ron and Hermione on their foreheads.
A sudden rush of warmth spread through them, their magic responding to the touch. " I have unlocked your potentials that might allow you to walk beside him," the entity said softly. " But it will be incredibly hard, as your magic has not even started developing." the entity said softly. " His path is not easy, and it is important that you have the strength to bring him back to his senses if necessary."
As the entity finished speaking it looked at the sky, " There are precarious times coming for this world. Stand beside him and do not let him venture down the path of evil." The golden light in Harry's eye began to flicker and dim. " He will be the greatest protector of this world, but should he turn dark, he will be the demise of this entire universe."
Hermione asked in a trembling voice, "Who... who are you? Why are you saying this?"
The entity replied, although the voice now seemed distant, "Do not abandon him ever..."
The presence began to recede making Harry's body tremble. The aura faded, and the ancient power emitted from Harry's body slowly dissipated. Ron and Hermione barely managed to catch Harry as he collapsed. Harry knocked out cold, his breathing shallow. Ron looked at Hermione with a pale face, "What do we do now?" he whispered.
Hermione bit her lip as she thought of what they should do next. Her eyes fell on Lumos, the unicorn's lifeless body still glowing faintly in the dim light. She knew that Harry would never forgive himself if they left Lumos like that.
"We can't leave him here like this... Harry wouldn't want that." She said as she pulled out her wand. After 15 minutes, both she and Ron had made a grave for the unicorn and buried him. Both of them whispered a soft goodbye, "Rest in peace, Lumos."
Both of them then turned to Harry who was slumped against a tree. "We need to get him back to the castle," Hermione said. Ron nodded in agreement as each of them took an arm and lifted Harry up. They half-walked half-dragged Harry out of the Forbidden Forest.
Once near the entrance of the forest, Hermione cast the Disillusionment charm on the three of them to make sure no one saw them coming out of the forest. Although it did not make them completely invisible as Harry's did, it still managed to make them blend in with the shadows thanks to the night sky. They slowly made their way to the castle. Eventually, they reached the familiar stone walls and slipped inside without being noticed.
Hermione quickly undid their Disillusionment charms as they made their way towards the Gryffindor common room. Carefully avoiding crowded corridors, they made their way up to the Gryffindor common room. By this time, Harry had began to regain some consciousness but it seemed that he was still unable to talk or walk. Whatever or whoever possessed him seemed to have drained his magical energy so low that his body was refusing to do anything else but recover his magical energy.
As the stood in front of the portrait of Fat Lady, Ron quickly gave the password and the portrait swung forward. They entered the room and suddenly everyone was looking at them. Percy who happened to be in the room rushed forward.
"What happened? Why are you guys dragging Harry here?"
Thinking quickly, Hermione put on a reassuring smile, "It's nothing. Harry wasn't feeling well and got nauseous all of a sudden. We tried to take him to the hospital wing but he didn't want to go there and told us to get him to his bed."
Ron nodded in agreement and looked at Percy, "Can you help me take him up to the dormitories? Hermione can't go there."
Percy nodded and immediately took Harry's other arm as both he and Ron took Harry to the dormitory. With Percy's help, Ron put Harry to bed. While Percy tried to ask Ron about the incident, Ron stuck to the story Hermione gave and didn't tell him anything else. After putting Harry to bed, as Ron began to draw the curtains, he looked at Harry's face and was shocked to see that he was looking right back at him.
Harry mouthed a thank you to him before he closed his eyes, a stray tear making its way down his side. Ron stood there for a moment, staring at Harry's tear-streaked face. He felt a wave of helplessness wash over him, not knowing how to help his friend. With a heavy sigh, he finally pulled the curtains closed around Harry's bed.
Percy gave Ron a concerned look as they left the dormitory. "If anything changes, come get me or McGonagall right away," Percy said.
Ron nodded but he didn't plan on telling anyone what had happened. Not only it could lead to the three of them ending up in Azkaban, but the entire world will be in chaos, knowing that Voldemort was still alive. Ron descended the stairs to the common room where Hermione was waiting. She immediately pulled Ron aside.
"How is he?" she whispered.
"He woke up for a second," Ron replied in a low voice, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. "He looked... I don't know, grateful? But also, he is in pain. He mouthed a 'thank you' before falling asleep again."
Hermione sighed deeply, "This is bad, Ron. Whatever happened back there... I still can't understand it."
"Yeah," Ron agreed, "But that's what I was trying to tell you in the train Hermione. Harry is different... way different from us...his powers are changing him, I think or we never knew about his other side."
Hermione shook her head, "I don't know. But one thing is clear, our world is in danger. That entity said it right... Maybe Voldemort will come back again in the future, even more powerful than he was before.."
Ron nodded, "That's what I was thinking too... But how do we prepare for that? I mean what do we even do?"
They both stood there in silence as they tried to figure out an answer to this question. The dark side of Harry they witnessed, the one that didn't hesitate to kill was too much for them to come in terms with. The ominous warnings of the entity, whoever it was, didn't help either.
As they stood there, other students started leaving for the Great Hall for dinner. At last, they couldn't think of anything so they too left for the Great Hall, their minds still heavy with what they had seen.
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Ron woke up with a start, his heart racing. The images of the previous day's events were still playing in his mind—Harry's tears, the killing curse, the entity...everything that had made him feel genuine fear. He had never seen anything like it, and the sheer power Harry had displayed was definitely leagues above what he had shown at the Dragon Reserve. Harry had gotten even more powerful.
He glanced at the clock on his bedside table: 6:05 AM. It was unusually early for him to be awake, but the dreams, specially the one with Harry casting the killing curse at Quirrell had woken him up. The memories kept replaying in his mind.
Sitting up in bed, Ron wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath. He looked over to Harry's bed, hoping to see him still sleeping, recovering from previous night's ordeal. But his heart sank as he focused on the bed—Harry's bed was empty.
Ron panicked. He scrambled out of bed as he tried to get out and look for Harry. He dashed over to Harry's bed hoping that he had missed him somehow, but the bed was cold. It was clear that Harry had been gone for a while.
"Where could he have gone?" Ron muttered to himself. His thoughts immediately went to the Forbidden Forest, but he didn't want to believe that Harry would be back there again. He grabbed his wand from the bedside table nonetheless and hurried downstairs to the common room.
Entering the common room, Ron scanned the area. The room was deserted, with the only light coming from the dying embers of the fireplace. Harry was not there either.
His thoughts went to the Forbidden Forest again, but he didn't want to believe that Harry would be back there. Part of the reason was that he didn't want to go there. Harry was so devastated by Lumos's death that it perfectly made sense for him to go back there and try to search for answers or worse, try to resurrect him. He had tried to do that the evening earlier but was stopped by the entity.
Ron didn't want to go there, but the thought of Harry crossing the limit pushed him out of the common room. He made his way through the castle, moving as quickly and quietly as he could. He pushed open the massive oak doors, and stepped out into the grounds. The cold morning air taking away what remnants of sleep he had in his eyes.
The sun was coming up but the forest still seemed dark from far. But wanting to make sure that Harry was okay, he started sprinting across the ground. He knew that he could easily die in the forest and could only hope that it didn't happen but if he didn't make it in, the thought of Harry doing something he is not supposed to and getting into deep trouble pushed him forward.
As he approached the edge of the forest, Ron slowed down. "Harry?" he called out. There was no response except for the silence of the forest.
Ron swallowed hard and stepped into the forest, making his way towards the clearing. The deeper he went, the more his fear grew. But he pushed through his fear, just to make sure that he would find Harry before he tried to do something even more dangerous than yesterday. The clearing was empty but he did see a set of footprint, which he recognised as Harry's, heading deeper into the forest.
Ron looked at the trees ahead, he really didn't want to go in. He was scared but he needed to stop Harry.
"I am gonna die..." with that Ron rushed ahead, not paying any attention to anything else. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he saw something— a faint glow in the distance. Ron quickened his pace, pushing through the underbrush, hoping against hope that it was Harry.
As he reached near, he stopped death in his tracks. It was Harry. The faint glow was coming from Harry, a soft eerie light that made him look otherworldly. He was standing in front of the grave, with his wand in his hand.
Two unicorns were standing at the grave— a majestic, fully grown on with a gleaming silver coat, and a smaller one, a foal, hiding nervously behind its mother. The mother unicorn's eyes were filled with sadness, and the baby was trembling slightly, clearly frightened by the situation.
Harry raised his wand towards the grave and Elythral began to glow slowly. But before Harry could cast the spell, the large unicorn stepped forward and nudged him gently with her muzzle, as if pleading him to stop. Harry hesitated, confusion crossed his face. "He is your mate," Harry said. "Wouldn't you like him back?"
The unicorn neighed softly, and pushed Harry again, this time more insistently. It was as if she was telling him that bring Lumos back would be a mistake.
Ron could see the confusion and turmoil on Harry's face. He saw his friend look at the unicorn as if trying to assess what it was conveying. Then his gaze fell on the baby unicorn, who was still hiding behind its mother, peeking out with wide, frightened eyes. The mother unicorn wasn't asking him to bring Lumos back—she was asking him to let him rest in peace, to protect the foal and not disturb Lumos's spirit.
Harry looked back at the mother unicorn, "Will you both come with me if I take you?" he asked quietly.
The unicorn seemed to understand. She nodded her head, her movements slow as if she had made a difficult decision.
Ron watched in awe as Harry loosened his grip on his wand and Elythral disappeared. He saw Harry kneel down and extend his arm towards the foal. The foal seemed to be scared at first, but then it looked into Harry's eyes and as if there was an unspoken exchange between them, it stepped forward into Harry's arms.
The foal seemed to somehow understand that Harry meant him no harm. Ron watched as Harry's magic erupted from him again, but this time in a soft, glowing wave, encircling the three of them—Harry, the foal and the mother. Just as the air around them began to shimmer, Harry turned his head, locking eyes with Ron.
For a brief moment, Ron thought Harry was going to say something, but instead, Harry thrust his hand towards Ron, and Ron felt a strange force push him backward. Before he could react, the magic surrounding Harry and the unicorns intensified, and in the blink of an eye, they were gone.
Ron stumbled, feeling the world spin around him. When he finally steadied himself, he realized he was no longer in the heart of the forest—he was standing at its edge, right where he had entered.
Breathing heavily, Ron stared into the trees, trying to process what had just occurred. Ron knew that he had to return to the castle, but he couldn't help think of Harry and feel a deep sense of awe for him. His mastery over magic was getting better and better everyday.
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Harry stood still for a moment, allowing his magic to settle down. Once it did, he found himself in the familiar living room of the Moonstone Dunvegan. He looked around to see if the mother unicorn and the foal were safe and was glad to see that they were, apart from being a little confused from the sudden change of surroundings.
The living room was just as he remembered—cozy and well-maintained. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. He still wanted to go back and try to resurrect Lumos but he would have to wait for the female unicorn and the foal to settle down.
"Loppy!", Harry called out loudly, his voice echoing slightly in the spacious room.
There was a loud crack, and Loppy appeared before Harry, bowing deeply. "Master Harry called?" Loppy asked as he raised his head and looked at Harry.
Harry nodded, "Yes, Loppy. I need you to take care of these unicorns." He gestured behind him where the mother and foal unicorns stood. "They're my friends, and I want them to be safe here. Don't tell Mum or Dad about them, alright?"
Loppy straightened up, "Yes, Master Harry! Loppy is taking care of your friends."
Harry nodded, "You can get some help from the other elves whenever you need, but make sure to tell them that they can't tell Mum or Dad, okay?"
Loppy nodded, "Of course, Master Harry! Loppy is taking very good care of them, Master. No one is knowing they are here, not even Mistress Petunia or Master Vernon."
Harry smiled faintly. "Thank you, Loppy. And prepare a room for me, here. I'll be staying here for some time."
Loppy nodded and bowed and hurried off with the unicorns. Harry took a look around before Disapparating again. He appeared in front of Lumos's grave.
The familiar weight of grief and rage coming up from inside of him again. He should have been able to protect his friend. He had the power to do that but he still lost him.
Harry raised his arm, Elythral materialising in his hand again, glowing faintly. The wand's light seemed to pulse with the rhythm of Harry's heartbeat, as if it understood the grief and rage Harry was feeling. He pointed it towards the grave and with a gentle flick, the soil moved aside, revealing Lumos's body. Tears clouded his eyes, but he blinked them away. He can't keep crying again and again, he needed to get a grip on his emotions.
Gently, Harry levitated Lumos's body out of the grave and placed it beside him on the ground. Kneeling down, he ran a hand along the unicorn's pale, cold fur. The rage inside him bubbling more and more as he saw the dead body of his friend. He hated Voldemort from the core of his soul.
"I am sorry I couldn't protect you, Lumos..." he whispered. "But I will revive you, don't worry. And I'll make Voldemort pay for this.... with every one of his followers. And anyone who supports him. I'll kill them all"
He smiled faintly, "I will take care of your mate and your child, don't worry. They'll be safe."
The thought of reviving Lumos lingered in his mind, but he didn't know any such magic that could revive a dead person. He knew it was beyond his current abilities but that doesn't mean he couldn't in the future. If there is no such magic, then he will create one.
He gazed at Elythral that was now pulsing sadly in his hand and a sudden idea struck him— a way to preserve Lumos's body until he was ready, until he could find a way to bring him back. The wand seemed to understand his intention as the glowing intensified.
Gently, Harry wrapped his magic around Lumos's body and with a sharp turn, he Apparated. He reappeared in an instant within one of the empty storerooms of the Dursley Mansion. It was one he had found while he was exploring the mansion.
The room was cold and dark, but it didn't matter. It would serve its purpose. Harry carefully lowered Lumos's body to the floor, his mind racing ahead to the spell he was about to perform. It was something he had created earlier that week, a spell to trap an object in time for a short period. The magic would freeze time for a specific object, suspending it in a moment.
With a deep breath, Harry raised Elythral once more. He concentrated on what he wanted to do. He focused on Lumos's body, and envisioned trapping it in time with ice.
"Glacius Tempora Aeternum," Harry whispered. The air around them grew colder, and an eerie, otherworldly light began to fill the room. The spell was designed to trap the object in time for a short period but what Harry wanted to do now was trap it in time for a long period. Slowly, the ice began to form around Lumos's body, starting at his hooves and spreading upward in a perfect, crystalline layer.
The ice was clear, shimmering with a silver glow as it encased the unicorn entirely. Harry's magic swirled around the room, embedding itself into the walls, floor and ceiling, sealing the time stasis in place. This was only possible because of Harry's limitless magic core. Any other person who wanted to freeze time for that long period would have died by making their magic reserves dry up completely. It would have taken their life once the magic energy dried up.
Finally, Harry lowered his wand, breathing heavily from the exertion. Even with the limitless core, it was still a spell that took a toll on him. He took a moment to steady himself before casting a final look at Lumos's frozen body, now preserved in a perfect moment of time.
"Rest now, Lumos," Harry murmured. "I'll come back for you. I promise."
With that, Harry turned and walked to the door. He waved his wand once more, casting a powerful sealing charm on the room. The door shimmered briefly, sealing itself with an unbreakable barrier that only Harry would be able to undo. No one would disturb Lumos—not until the day Harry returned to fulfill his vow.