Nobody in Dumbledore's office spoke for several seconds after Percy gave them the answer. Seven days was long enough to make plans, but short enough that every bad plan suddenly started to look reasonable.
Ron was the first to move. He sat down again and rubbed both hands across his face.
"Seven days is ridiculous. Ancient magical disasters should give at least a two weeks' notice[1]."
Hermione did not react to the joke. Instead, she reopened Helena Ravenclaw's journal and began checking the final pages again, as if a better translation might appear if she looked hard enough.
Dumbledore walked toward his desk and picked up the black fragment of the old seal. The silver symbols on its surface had become slightly brighter since Percy first saw it.
"We now have two priorities. We must slow the damage below the lake, and we must understand what the final instruction actually requires."
Percy looked toward the stone. He could feel the same pressure from it, but something had changed since the morning.
"It's reacting to the crack. It feels stronger now."
Flitwick raised his wand and examined the stone from a distance. Several thin circles of light appeared around it before disappearing again.
"The magical output has increased by almost twelve percent. If the fragment is still connected to the main structure, we may be seeing energy leak through the damaged seal."
Ron looked at him with concern. He seemed to understand enough of that sentence to dislike all of it.
"So the dangerous rock is becoming more dangerous because the bigger dangerous rock under the lake is breaking. That's useful."
Hermione turned another page in Helena's journal. She had already covered two sheets of parchment with translations and notes.
"We need the original wording, not Helena's explanation of it. She was writing for herself, so she never explained terms that she already understood."
Percy leaned over the table. Most of the writing looked like someone had deliberately invented a language to punish future students.
"Can you translate it?"
"Some of it. The problem is that the inscription uses words from several languages, and their meanings changed over time."
Harry looked toward her. His scar had stopped glowing red, but he still touched it every few minutes without seeming to notice.
"What about the three prices? Are those translations wrong?"
Hermione shook her head.
"Not wrong, but maybe incomplete. The word I translated as 'surrender' can also mean release, return, abandon, or give back."
Percy straightened slightly. That was the first thing anyone had said that sounded less terrible.
"So I might not have to lose my powers."
"You might still have to."
Percy's small amount of hope disappeared again. Hermione gave him an apologetic look and continued reading.
"I don't want to assume the worst meaning when the inscription may have another one. Old magic often depends on exact wording."
Ron frowned.
"Does old magic ever depend on normal wording?"
Hermione finally looked at him.
"No."
"At least it's consistent."
Dumbledore turned toward Harry.
"There is another issue we must address before anything else. If the entity can use your connection to Voldemort, then remaining close to the threshold may place all of us at risk."
Harry's expression hardened immediately. Percy had expected that reaction before Dumbledore finished speaking.
"So I stay away from the lake."
"For now."
"And if staying away doesn't help?"
Dumbledore did not answer immediately. That pause was enough to make Harry more annoyed.
Percy looked between them.
"We can test it without putting him next to the seal. I can feel the thing through water, so maybe I can tell if it reacts when Harry gets closer."
Hermione nodded slowly.
"Different distances could tell us whether the connection is physical, magical, or both. We should also check whether Harry's scar reacts before Percy senses anything."
Harry looked toward her.
"You're planning an experiment on me."
"A safe experiment."
Percy raised an eyebrow.
"That phrase has had a bad week."
Hermione ignored him. She was already making another list.
----------------------[2]
Percy returned to the Black Lake shortly before sunset. Dumbledore, Flitwick and McGonagall came with him, while Harry remained inside the castle under protest.
The air had become colder during the afternoon. Thin ice had started to form around the edges of the lake, although Percy could feel warmer currents moving beneath it.
He removed his shoes and stepped into the water. The cold barely registered before the lake opened around his senses.
Aequor was waiting.
Percy felt the creature below before he saw anything. Its presence was larger than before, as if it had moved much closer to the surface.
Percy walked deeper until the water reached his waist.
"I'm here."
Dumbledore stood behind him on the shore.
"Can it hear you?"
Percy looked back.
"I have no idea."
A pressure moved through the water.
HEAR.
Percy turned around again.
"Apparently yes."
McGonagall crossed her arms. She did not seem pleased by the confirmation.
Percy closed his eyes and tried to focus on Aequor instead of the fracture. The old creature was easier to understand now, although communication still felt more like receiving ideas than hearing words.
"We found the old instructions. We know about the three locks."
The water around Percy's legs moved.
KNOW.
Percy waited for more. Nothing came.
"Very helpful."
A second meaning reached him.
SLOW.
Percy frowned.
"Are you calling me slow?"
The water pushed lightly against his knees.
YES.
Percy stared into the lake.
"You're definitely related to something from my world."
Dumbledore coughed behind him. Percy suspected that was an attempt to hide amusement.
He focused again.
"The inscription says the three locks can repair the seal. It also says we have to surrender something."
Aequor moved below him.
RETURN.
Percy's expression changed.
"Return what?"
The answer came slowly.
WHAT WAS BORROWED.
Percy looked back toward Dumbledore. The Headmaster could not hear Aequor directly, so Percy repeated the message.
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed.
"Ask what was borrowed."
Percy turned back toward the lake.
"What was borrowed?"
Three separate sensations entered his mind.
SEA.
NAME.
WORD.
Percy repeated them.
Flitwick stepped closer to the water.
"Sea, name and word. Those correspond to the three locks."
Dumbledore nodded.
"Percy's sea connection, Harry's inherited magical identity, and Hermione's knowledge of the seal language."
Percy looked down into the water.
"But what does returning them mean?"
The response took longer this time. Aequor moved around the threshold, and Percy felt another small fracture open before the creature forced it closed.
NOT LOSE.
Percy's heart beat faster.
"Not lose?"
NOT DESTROY.
He turned around.
"It says we don't lose them."
Hermione would have liked to hear that.
McGonagall stepped closer.
"Then what happens?"
Percy asked.
Aequor answered with another image instead of a word. Percy saw water flowing from a river into the sea, then clouds rising from the sea and returning as rain.
He saw a name written on stone, worn away, then carved again somewhere else. He saw spoken words disappear into silence before returning from another mouth.
Percy struggled to understand.
"It's showing me things being given back and then returned."
Dumbledore's expression became thoughtful.
"A temporary surrender."
Percy looked toward him.
"Maybe."
Aequor pushed another meaning into his mind.
TRUST.
Percy became still.
The word bothered him more than the others.
"What?"
TRUST.
Then another image appeared.
Three people stood around the seal.
None of them held power.
None of them controlled the others.
All three placed something into the same structure.
Percy finally understood part of it.
"The locks have to be released willingly."
Dumbledore nodded.
"That would explain why the original builders used three different forms of magic. No one person could open or close the gate alone."
Percy looked toward the water.
"So Umbridge's machine failed because she forced it."
Aequor answered immediately.
BROKE.
Percy felt the fracture pulse.
"She didn't open it correctly. She broke the lock."
Another response came.
YES.
Flitwick lowered his wand slightly.
"Then repairing it should be possible without permanent loss."
Percy wanted to believe him. The way Aequor communicated made everything sound simple, but ancient magical instructions had already proved that they were very good at hiding important details.
He asked another question.
"What happens after we return the three parts?"
Aequor went quiet.
Percy waited.
The lake remained still for several seconds.
Then a new image entered his mind.
The seal closed.
The cracks disappeared.
Aequor moved away from the threshold.
For one brief moment, Percy felt relief.
Then the image continued.
The three figures around the seal fell.
Percy opened his eyes.
Dumbledore saw his expression immediately.
"What did you see?"
Percy did not answer at first. He wanted to ask Aequor whether the image meant death, unconsciousness, injury, or something else.
"Percy?"
He looked back toward them.
"It closes."
McGonagall waited.
"And?"
Percy looked toward the dark water.
"We don't walk away immediately."
Nobody on the shore spoke.
Percy turned back toward Aequor.
"Do we die?"
The answer came.
MAYBE.
Percy stared into the water.
"That's not an answer."
MAYBE.
"You're terrible at this."
OLD.
Percy rubbed his forehead.
"That explains nothing."
TIRED.
Despite everything, Percy almost laughed.
Dumbledore stepped into the shallow water beside him.
"Ask what determines the outcome."
Percy did.
Aequor sent another series of images. Percy saw the three locks enter the seal at the same moment, but in one version the energy moved smoothly between them.
In another version, one lock resisted.
The entire structure collapsed.
Percy felt the answer.
BALANCE.
He repeated it aloud.
Dumbledore looked toward Flitwick.
"Equal contribution."
"Perhaps," Flitwick said. "Or equal consent."
Percy shook his head.
"I think both."
The water around him shifted again.
YES.
Percy looked down.
"You're getting better at answering."
LEARNING.
That word removed the small amount of humour from him.
Percy remembered the thing beyond the threshold doing exactly the same thing.
Learning.
---------------------------
Hermione had filled another six pages by the time Percy returned to the castle. She listened without interrupting while he explained everything Aequor had shown him.
Harry sat across from her. He had moved to the northern side of Gryffindor Tower and had been forbidden from approaching the lake without Dumbledore's permission.
When Percy finished, Hermione immediately returned to Helena's journal.
"Return, not surrender."
Percy sat beside her.
"That's what Aequor said."
Hermione pointed toward the original line.
"That fits better. The word can mean returning something that was held temporarily."
Ron leaned across the table.
"So nobody has to lose their powers, soul bits or memories forever."
Hermione hesitated.
"Probably."
Ron closed his eyes.
"You were so close."
Percy looked toward Harry.
"The problem is that all three of us have to be there."
Harry nodded.
"Good."
"No, not good."
"You don't get to decide that."
Percy leaned back.
"The thing wants you near the seal."
"And the seal needs me near it."
"Exactly."
Harry folded his arms.
"Then hiding in a tower isn't going to fix anything."
Percy could not argue with that. He disliked it anyway.
Hermione tapped her quill against the journal.
"We still have time. We don't need to perform the repair until we understand the process."
Ron looked toward her.
"We have six days."
"Six days and several hours."
"Much better."
Hermione ignored him.
"There is another problem."
Percy looked at the journal.
"Naturally."
"The seal needs the bloodline lock voluntarily. Harry can agree to release the magic, but the Slytherin signature isn't actually his."
Harry's expression changed.
Percy understood a second later.
"Voldemort."
Hermione nodded.
"The fragment is attached to Harry, but it comes from Voldemort. If the seal requires the source of the magic to release its claim, Harry's permission might not be enough."
Ron stared at her.
"You're saying we need You Know Who to cooperate."
Hermione looked uncomfortable.
"I'm saying we need to find out whether we do."
Percy leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
"That seems difficult."
Harry gave him a dry look.
"Really?"
Percy looked back.
"I was trying to be positive."
Ron shook his head.
"Don't."
Dumbledore entered the common room before the argument continued. The fact that the Headmaster had personally come to Gryffindor Tower made every nearby student go silent.
He approached their table.
"I believe Miss Granger has found the same problem I have."
Hermione looked up.
"The bloodline claim."
Dumbledore nodded.
"Yes."
Harry stood.
"Can I release it?"
"We do not know."
"What if I can't?"
Dumbledore remained quiet for a moment.
"Then we may need to separate the fragment from you before the seal can use it."
Harry stared at him.
Percy sat straighter.
"You can do that?"
Dumbledore's expression told them the answer before he spoke.
"Not safely."
Harry slowly sat again.
Hermione looked toward the old journal.
"Then we need another method."
Dumbledore nodded.
"I have asked Professor Snape to begin researching one."
Ron looked unhappy.
"Snape?"
"He understands soul magic better than most living wizards."
Harry's expression became even less pleased.
"That's reassuring."
Dumbledore turned toward him.
"There is also something else you should know."
Harry looked up.
Dumbledore's face had become serious.
"Professor Snape reported unusual activity from Voldemort this afternoon."
The room around them suddenly felt quieter.
Harry touched his scar.
"What kind?"
"He has ordered several Death Eaters to investigate magical disturbances in northern Britain."
Percy looked toward Hermione.
"So he knows something is happening."
Dumbledore nodded.
"Perhaps not what, but enough to search."
Harry stared at the table.
"Because of me."
"Possibly."
Percy noticed Harry's expression.
"Don't."
Harry looked at him.
"Don't what?"
"Start blaming yourself for something Voldemort is doing."
Harry's jaw tightened.
"I wasn't."
"You were."
"Can we focus?"
Percy looked toward Hermione.
"He's stealing your lines now."
Hermione did not smile.
Dumbledore continued.
"Until we know what Voldemort understands, nobody leaves Hogwarts alone. The Order will watch Hogsmeade and the roads around the school."
Ron leaned toward Percy.
"We finally have a week where classes might actually be the safe option."
Percy nodded.
"I hate that."
-----------------
That night, Harry dreamed.
He knew it was not a normal dream almost immediately.
He stood inside a dark room that he had never seen before. A fireplace burned at one end, and a long wooden table was covered with maps of Scotland.
Harry could not move his body.
He was watching through someone else.
Voldemort.
Harry felt the familiar cold anger before he understood anything else. Several Death Eaters stood around the table, but none of them seemed willing to speak.
A pale finger touched one point on the map.
Hogwarts.
"Again."
Lucius Malfoy looked nervous.
"My Lord, the disturbance was strongest this morning. The Ministry has restricted travel around the village."
Voldemort's anger increased.
"That was not my question."
Lucius lowered his head.
"No, my Lord."
Another Death Eater stepped forward.
"We detected magic beneath the school. It is old, but the pattern is unfamiliar."
Voldemort became still.
Harry felt interest replace anger.
"Unfamiliar to you."
The man swallowed.
"Yes, my Lord."
Voldemort looked toward the fire.
Harry suddenly felt something else.
Not Voldemort.
Cold entered the scar connection.
Voldemort felt it too.
His body froze.
A dark line appeared across the burning logs.
Harry tried to pull away from the vision.
He could not.
The line widened.
Voldemort raised his wand.
"Who are you?"
The fire went silent.
The Death Eaters looked around in confusion, but Harry understood that they could not see what Voldemort was seeing.
Something moved behind the flame.
A meaning entered Harry's mind.
Harry felt Voldemort receive it at the same time.
HEIR.
Voldemort's anger vanished.
For the first time, Harry felt fear from him.
"Show yourself."
The dark line widened.
Harry's scar became colder.
The presence moved closer.
OPEN.
Voldemort lifted his wand.
"You command nothing."
The response came instantly.
NOT COMMAND.
The fire went black.
OFFER.
Harry felt the entity reach through the connection.
It touched Voldemort.
Then it touched Harry, and Harry tried to scream, but he had no mouth.
Percy woke when the water glass beside his bed exploded.
He was out of bed before he fully understood what had happened. Ron woke at the same time while Harry twisted beneath his blankets several beds away.
"Harry!"
Percy crossed the room and grabbed his shoulder.
Harry's eyes opened.
For one second, they were not green.
They were completely black.
Percy stumbled backward.
Then Harry blinked.
His normal eyes returned.
He sucked in a breath and grabbed Percy's arm.
"It found him."
Ron reached the bed.
"Found who?"
Harry looked between them.
"Voldemort."
Percy's stomach tightened.
"What happened?"
Harry was breathing too fast. Percy handed him another glass of water, then remembered the first one had shattered and changed his mind.
Harry forced himself upright.
"It spoke to him through me."
Ron went pale.
"What did it say?"
Harry looked toward the window.
The Black Lake was hidden behind the darkness outside, but Percy could feel it anyway.
Harry swallowed.
"It offered him something."
Percy stared at him.
"What?"
Harry shook his head.
"I woke up before I saw."
Far below the castle, the crack in the seal widened again.
Percy felt it happen.
This time, Aequor did not say seven.
A new meaning reached him through the water.
SIX.
Percy looked toward Harry.
The countdown had begun.
===========================
YAYYY! Everybody dies! (nah jkjk)
(Confession) I don't know where this story goes, and i'm just letting it flow. So if there are some errors or plotholes, please forgive me.
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p a t r e o n . c o m /Reader004 (remove spaces)
[1] Haha employment jokes
[2] Do yall prefer this line break or the longer one?