Chapter 31
Luna's advice turned out, as always, to be spot on. After Bill and Fleur explained to the goblins what was happening, they immediately marked a date for the ritual. It was something they would have to do urgently, and indeed, not even a day later, the Potter-Black-Lupin family found themselves at Gringott's.
After checking the scar in person, making sure everything was ready for the ritual, the Goblins in charge of the role explained to Harry how they would attempt to remove the Horcrux that had been attached to his person for years. Being closely intertwined with his magical core, it had become almost a part of him for all the years that horrible dark magic sucked his life away. He didn't bat an eye when it was explained to him that it would be a long and complicated process. There was no guarantee that it would work, but Harry was willing to face hours full of agony for even a slight chance that he could escape a sacrificial death during the final battle.
He made the decision that he wanted to perform the ritual as soon as possible, despite the fact that everyone kept telling him that he had time to assimilate what was happening to him. For Harry, the sooner he got this horrible fate out in front of him, the sooner he could relax. Ever since he had learned that the seventh Horcrux had been him all along, he had felt dejected. However, he totally refused to allow the horrible emotions he felt to overwhelm him. He had suppressed them, determined to ignore everything in the hope that it would disappear as soon as possible.
His family, friends and Cedric seemed to follow him around like ducklings with their mothers. It was a bit exasperating but he knew they were just worried about him, waiting for him to finally break. However, he had no intention of doing so soon. He was a fighter and refused to let go when there was still a chance of survival.
So as soon as the Goblins sent him a letter informing him that the preparations were over, he showed up at the bank with his family. They were to be present throughout the ritual, representing the bonds that kept him connected to the land, reminding him that he had a place to return to. A place where he was loved unconditionally.
The Goblins explained to him that the ritual would make him relive his worst memories and that he would have to fight hard against his mind so that it could push the Horcrux away from him. They told him that the piece of soul would struggle to hold on to his life, distorting those memories and making them worse than they were but he certainly didn't expect the horror he was feeling at that moment.
His mind tried to trick him, showing him a different way. A world without Daisy, where he would bear the brunt of the Dursleys' mistreatment for years without the comfort of his twin sister. A world where he had no relationship with Sirius and Remus and where he was a puppet in Dumbledore's hands with no purpose other than to please him. For a moment he believed that was his life and was overcome with grief, feeling the loss of those he loved as if it had really happened. But then something caught his attention: a mistake in Vernon's way of speaking and everything fell back into place.
He began to struggle against those fake memories, destroying the objects around him in an attempt to collapse the illusion. His only goal was to see a real memory, something to remind him of happiness. He found himself wandering in a dark, silent corridor where there were a million doors on every street he traveled. He was sure they were the memories stored in his mind, but how could he be sure they were real? More importantly, how could he find a memory powerful enough to bring him back?
He opened a door experimentally, but by the time he realized which memory it was, it was too late. He remembered the fear of that day as if it were yesterday. The way his aunt first beat him for daring to stain her kitchen with blood and mud, ignoring his injuries. His cousin had pushed him, dropping him on the asphalt and laughing at him when he began to cry in pain.
He remembered the loneliness he felt when she threw him into the closet without even medicating him, yelling at him that she didn't want to see him until the next day. She was punishing him as if it was his fault, and it wasn't fair.
Watching his smaller self cry in despair as he looked in horror at his scraped knees and palms, Harry noticed the gauze resting on the bed beside his younger self. It was then that he smiled softly. The Horcrux could try to trick him but could not remove every single part of the memory. One merely had to be careful enough to notice the things that seemed out of place.
The memory didn't change much. The feelings were still the same but gratitude was added to them when his sister joined in the image. She was trying to medicate him to the best of her ability, even though they were too young to know how to take care of themselves.
She had rinsed the dirt from the wounds and was crudely attempting to wrap them in gauze, although the result was unwatchable. He looked like he was about to be mummified and would certainly be uncomfortable but it didn't seem to matter to the younger version of him. His gaze full of admiration was turned toward his twin sister who always seemed to what to do to make him feel good.
He couldn't help thinking about how things hadn't changed over the years and his mind catapulted him into another memory, making him feel the same sensation as when you first dematerialize. Nausea and all that.
He smiled broadly when he saw them in the same position, though older. It must have been the year before their adoption if he remembered correctly. This time they were in the bathroom. Harry was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, his head raised while Daisy was instructing him to apply pressure with a tissue so that no more blood would run from his nose.
" What would you have done this time? " she scolded him, putting a butterfly band-aid on a cut in his cheek. He hoped it would close the wound enough that it would not scar.
" He was teasing me with his friends and I answered him. >> snorted Harry, annoyed at the way things had backfired on him. << If I could have used my wand... "
" They would have confiscated it from you forever. " she finished, reminding him to be more careful. " Only a few weeks and we could return to Hogwarts. Please don't get into any more trouble. "
" Sorry, I always make you worry. " mumbled Harry, putting the ice back in place on his other hand. His knuckles were a little swollen from hitting one of Dursley's friends in the face.
" As long as you come back to me so that I can fix you up, I don't mind. " she reassured him, telling him to remove that tissue from his nose. She looked curiously at the slightly crooked nasal septum and with a bold move tried to put it back in place. A horrible pop was heard, accompanied by the protest of her brother who didn't seem to be pleased with the sudden gesture.
"Warn me, Christ! " he said, putting his tissue back against his nose. << Since when do you know how to fix broken noses? >>
" Since now, apparently. " she smiled, proudly.
" Was that an experiment? You could have disfigured me! " Harry scolded her, bewildered by his sister's crazy gesture.
" You couldn't get worse even if you wanted to. " Daisy stuck her tongue out at him, before running off to their room, leaving behind the sound of her laughter.
Despite being treated horribly, being together had made that house less bleak. They didn't have much but their mutual companionship was enough for both of them.
Harry had the urge to follow her. He desperately wanted to join her. As when they were children they gravitated toward each other. She was his personal North Star who always showed him the correct way to go home. So he had no trouble following the sound of her laughter, convinced that he could make it out alive. Otherwise he would live out his last moments remembering something beautiful: his sister.
It was with that thought that he found himself at Gringott's, lost and in pain while watching his family weep in despair as they observed his body still lying in the center of the room. He croaked his sister's name, needing to see the face of the one who had brought him back to the present.
" Can I join him or is the ritual still going on? " the girl asked the Goblin who had helped them.
" It looks like the ritual worked so you can go. " nodded the creature, gesturing for her to move forward.
" I'm here, don't worry. " said Daisy, shaking the sweat-soaked hair from Harry's forehead. " It's all over, it worked. "
That's when Harry broke down, beginning to sob uncontrollably while hugging her. He kept thanking her, taking her face in his hands over and over again to make sure it was real.
" What are you thanking me for? You did it all by yourself. " Daisy said, telling him how proud she was for the way he had fought so hard.
" I am never alone. I always have you. " he said, holding her close again.
" It will always stay that way. Of that you can be sure. " replied the girl with tears in her eyes. Their parents had approached them, and after Sirius helped Remus kneel beside them, they all hugged each other tightly while letting go of their tears. They were relieved that everything had gone well.
Occasionally Sirius would leave tender kisses on Harry's now scarless forehead, praising him for the strength he had shown. No one could judge them; they all felt the same thing: hope. Hope for a better, brighter future. Hope that fortune would finally turn in their direction. But, most of all, hope in their family.