Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 104: Open Your Eyes
Harry shifted his sight toward the upper levels of the library as they shone brighter than a thousand stars.
Feeling his rage, the black goo stopped its consumption of memories and began to retreat, to hide away and await a better opportunity.
"That's not happening." Harry extended his hand. "In this place, I control everything."
The bookshelves began to disappear, and the walls of the library started to crumble.
"There is no escape." The endless library exploded, and everything disappeared into a white void.
Harry now stood inside an empty space, and the fragments of the black gooey substance floated in this space, a short distance away from him.
"There you are," said Harry.
All of the fragments joined in the middle, forming a single entity. The mass began to morph and adopt a humanoid appearance. It was Harry's...except completely black.
The newly formed Obscurus turned to face him and opened its mouth, but no sound was produced.
"You want me? Well, here I am." Harry made a provoking gesture with his hand. "I used to be terrified of you… of what would happen if I lost myself to despair… but no more of that. Come already. Let's end this."
With no other option, the creature flew at him. Its arms moved to grab Harry.
"Foolish thing," Harry said calmly. His voice was almost a whisper.
The creature stopped midair. It looked confused.
"You are inside my mind. Inside my body. And now… I am in full control of it." Harry moved closer to the Obscurus and touched it with the tip of his finger.
The Obscurus was unable to talk or produce any sound, but its face showed what it was feeling. Just pain.
Cracks began to appear in its black body. Rays of light emerged from within.
Harry did not explain what he had done to it. But the creature understood that it was dying… fast.
More cracks appeared on its surface until all the black substance had disappeared, leaving behind a bubble of light.
Harry extended his hand, and the light entered his body. Just like that, he had recovered everything that the Obscurus had taken away from him, and even more. The energy left behind by the creature belongs to him now.
He took a moment to relax and process everything properly. Then he observed the empty surroundings.
Harry had destroyed his library in order to locate every single piece of the parasite. If anything had been left behind, it could have caused trouble for him in the future, so this had been a necessary action.
However, now he had to rebuild.
"Perhaps I could try something different…" Harry focused his mind and created a perfect image. Then, he snapped his fingers.
The white void went away and was replaced by a beautiful landscape. Blue sky and endless grass plains.
Towers made of ivory stone began to emerge from the ground and rose high into the sky. They would now serve as vaults for his memories, just as the library had done before.
"That will do for now," Harry said. "Perhaps I will add a few more things later."
He looked up at the blue sky and sighed. Now that he was whole again, he understood the situation and what he was going to have to do.
"No point in postponing things. I need to wake up." He closed his eyes.
<><><><><><><><><><><>
When he opened them again, he saw the wooden roof of Lady Rose's cabin. Next, he started hearing some familiar voices. They were discussing something.
Lastly, he noticed that something had been wrapped over his body, sealing any movement from the neck down.
It was a complex spell. Harry's mind immediately began to work on analyzing it. He felt the magical signature left behind by the caster.
Dumbledore.
It took him a few seconds to completely understand the spell and its purpose. It was a charm meant for containment. It would seal the person into a sort of stasis.
'He was trying to stop the Obscurus from taking over.' Harry understood the Headmaster's motivations behind its use. And the fact that he had saved him with it.
If it hadn't been for this charm, he would be dead by now.
The wrappings around his body became undone. Once he understood the spell, it was easy to destroy it.
Charlie, Fred, and Ginny heard something and turned their heads toward him.
Harry's body became loose and levitated for a moment before resting back on the couch.
"Mmm?… what is this?" Harry picked up something that had been resting on his forehead. A metallic ring with a blue tone.
"Harry!" Ginny was the first one to reach him. She pulled him into a crushing hug.
"Man, you finally woke up," Fred said. "Gave us such a headache."
He hugged Ginny back. "Sorry for worrying you all."
"So… that thing. The Obscurus. Is it really gone?" Charlie asked. His eyes moved to Lady Rose for a moment.
The woman had told them that Harry had overcome his issues, but she wasn't too clear about it.
Harry nodded. "Everything is fine now. In fact…" He looked around. He noticed many things that he couldn't see before.
There were countless strands of soft light inside the shop. They were purposely woven around the shelves and into the items.
Spells.
Just like the cocoon charm he had just unraveled. He felt like he could understand the magic around him in a way that felt so natural. This was an unexpected discovery.
"I've never felt better," Harry added.
"That's great. Because a lot has happened over the last two days. We were just getting Ginny up to date before you woke up," Charlie said with a serious expression on his face. "We have much to tell the two of you before we decide where to go from here."
Harry looked at him. "Very well. I'm listening…"