Harry started hearing his father's voice inside his head. Words about revenge and retribution and how Harry mustn't become like Voldemort, filled only with hate and anger and a desire to hurt.
Harry couldn't listen to it, though. He hurt, all the way through. And the only way to stop it was to destroy Lucius Malfoy.
"Petrificus totalus!" he suddenly heard from beside him. Aran's voice. He'd forgotten about Aran.
Harry tried to yank himself out of the way, but the energy pouring from his hands had a force all its own, a force that held him in place, like a great magnet against which he couldn't hope to move.
He felt the Petrificus hit, felt his whole body snap stiff and begin to fall backwards.
Smashing against the stone floor was like shattering into a thousand pieces without actually breaking at all, and as he hit, a new sort of anger took hold of his mind. Stupid, stupid Aran! He'd just seen Lucius abduct a student! He'd seen Lucius try to cast an Unforgivable at Harry! And still, he'd taken Lucius' side in the duel.
Because he hated Parselmouths.
Harry wanted to sick up right on him.
Then he wanted to sick up for other reasons. He was dragged inside, Lucius practically growling the spell.
The door clanged shut behind him.
He could see above himself and hear; he just couldn't react. Unless he could break the hex, the way he had before. He'd had Sals then to help him focus his powers. No Sals with him today, but he had his glasses.
Thank God for the Headmaster, Harry thought. If he'd gone with a tattoo, he wouldn't be able to lift it before his eyes. But his glasses were still right there.
Harry concentrated on the snake image in the corner of his eye. Stared at it, harder than ever before, and thought about how much he needed to break free. Draco was in danger, and he loved Draco... Concentrate, he told himself. Concentrate on breaking out so you can help Draco. It had worked before, to break the hex.
It had to work again, it just had to!
And it was. Harry could feel it, power crowding up inside him, pure raw energy building up to a point that no mere Petrificus would be able to withstand...
"Thank you, Professor," he could hear Malfoy say as though from a long, long distance. The man sounded like he was trying not to pant. "Potter truly is vicious."
"Attempting to kill a school governor," said Aran, practically sputtering. "And with such... unnatural magic! Shocking, shocking behaviour!" The Defence professor cleared his throat. "But as for your son, Mr. Malfoy. A Portkey? We never discussed anything of that nature!"
"I'm afraid it really was the only way to remove him from that boy's horrid influence," said Lucius, his voice satisfied now that he'd caught his breath. "Surely you agree, hmmm?"
"You told me you merely wished to talk to him so you could get past your misunderstandings!"
Lucius gave a low laugh. "Precisely. And I hardly think he'll listen to me here. But don't fret, Professor. I'll have him back to Hogwarts safe and sound before breakfast tomorrow. And trust me, he won't be associating with Harry Potter any longer."
From where he lay, Harry could barely see Malfoy dusting himself off as he spoke. Then picking something up. A scent drifted over Harry's face. Ashes. Charred wood.
"Shall I summon the Aurors to take Potter away?" asked Aran. "Or would you prefer to file charges, yourself?"
"I hardly think it will help my social standing for it to be known that a slip of a boy nearly melted me," drawled Lucius as he reached inside his robes for something.
"Oh. Well then, you can rely on my discretion. I'm pleased I could be of service," said Aran. "You'll remember it when the board meets to consider next year's appointments?"
"Actually, I'm afraid your service to me is at an end." Smiling, Lucius extended Draco's new wand, a spell already on his lips. One Harry didn't recognise.
Harry didn't see or hear what happened next; he was too busy redoubling his efforts to break his way free. He felt the spell binding him begin to crack. The snake in the corner of his lens was nodding at him, now, encouraging him, and Harry pulled on his deepest reserves, right down into his very heart, and summoned forth all the love he had. Not just for Draco, but Severus as well. And Sirius. And his parents. And even Dumbledore--
His glasses were abruptly plucked off his face and removed from his view.
The snake vanished.
And with her, every last trace of the power Harry had managed to summon forth. He felt like a slab of stone now. Lifeless, inert.
Yet he could see and hear. In fact, he had no choice but to. He couldn't close his eyes.
And Lucius knew it.
"Such a pity you still need glasses," said Lucius softly, his face so close Harry thought he must be kneeling alongside him and leaning over. "Your dear father couldn't restore you completely after our fun and games last time? Ah, well. No reason why we can't resume, eh? And these glasses would only have got in the way."
As Lucius stood up, Harry heard a cracking, crunching noise and knew his glasses were being crushed to dust beneath the man's heel.
Then Lucius was kneeling again, back at his side. He ran the pad of his thumb across the surface of one of Harry's open, frozen eyes, his touch lingering before it moved on to the other one. "Still, this truly is some of the loveliest healing work I've ever seen. Severus must be quite proud of your eyes. I must be sure to return them to him once I've plucked them from your head. Do you think he'll display them in one of his jars with his other collected oddities?"
It was all Harry could do not to squirm in disgust, but of course, he couldn't squirm. He couldn't do a damned thing!
"Well, we must be off," said Lucius. "Your charming little spell was probably something to summon Severus? My, he is slow to respond. I wonder what that means. At any rate, it really was delightfully stupid of you to advertise your presence like that. Didn't you learn from what happened last time that I keep an ear out for Parseltongue? So then, come along."
Using Draco's wand, the man flipped Harry's petrified body upright and floated it over to the Floo. "You know, I find it amusing that it was Draco's revulsion for snakes that led to him discovering your Parsel ability in the first place. He thought casting that viper at you was the most vicious thing he could do."
Stepping in beside him, Lucius leaned over to croon in Harry's ear. "Brothers, are you now? I wouldn't count on that lasting. Draco won't ever want to see you again, not after the punishment I've devised. I do hope that living in such close quarters with a Parselmouth hasn't assuaged his irrational fears. It would be such a pity if the new room I've had the elves make for him was put to waste. Though I'm sure that room isn't really the appropriate term. It's more a pit. A snake pit."
Lucius laughed. "Yes, he's there right now. And by the time I'm ready to allow him release... oh, yes. He'll have reconsidered his strange obsession with you. He'll reverse the regrettable choices he's made this year. All of them."
With that, Lucius threw down a pinch of powder.
Harry's world dissolved into flames.
----------------------------------------------
Coming Soon in A Year Like None Other
Chapter Ninety-One: True Colours
Happy Holidays!
Aspen