A Deeper Connection: A New Beginning

A Deeper Connection - Part II

Like all the meagre possessions of Harry's early childhood, the tin soldier had been a hand-me-down from Dudley; broken, discarded, and fished out of the rubbish bin. Despite that, Harry had treasured the small tin soldier with its missing arm and fought tooth and nail to keep it hidden from his dear relatives. Once the tables had turned at Number Four, Privet Drive and the Dursleys had been shown their place, the tin soldier had been one of the first objects he had tinkered with as he started to experiment with permanent Conjurations and Transfigurations. Eventually, he had managed to permanently Conjure the missing arm, reattaching it to the tin soldier, before turning the tin into pure silver a few months later.

Therefore, the tin soldier was not only a reminder of his miserable childhood, but also a visible proof of progress and empowerment he would never let go of.

"Let us begin," Harry broke the silence, a new-found determination to his words.

"Together," Tom added, causing a wide smile to appear on the face of his Equal.

Without further ado, Harry turned around, inspecting the Rune circle for one last time before placing the tin soldier on its designated place right on top a Sumerian Rune generally known as the 'Receiver'. While the Ritual could also be conducted without the Rune circle, Tom knew from experience that it was a lot safer, easier, and more precise to include one. While Harry took his place within the area of the Rune circle designated for the 'Donator', Tom was taking care of the last vital ingredient of the Ritual, the 'Offering', swiftly ignoring the looks of Corvus, Lucius, and Severus, who were either eyeing the tin soldier, or the magical cage in the corner of the massive Ritual Chamber with scepticism, in the case of the latter two mixed with curiosity. Since the Lord of the Lestrange family had witnessed this specific ritual before, he knew what was going to happen, although he obviously did not approve of Harry's selection of 'Receiver' either.

With a swift movement of his beloved Yew wand, the large, Stunned body of Vernon Dursley was Levitated out of the magical cage he had been spending the last few hours in. Once the fat Muggle had been placed above the Sumerian 'Offering' Rune, which luckily was protected with a layer of magic from getting smudgy, the Dark Lord took his place behind his Equal.

Fortunately, the magic of the ritual would allow him to stay by Harry's side, a rarity amongst most Rituals involving a Rune circle for which he was rather glad for since it would allow him to assist his Equal. Since Harry needed every bit of magic for the things he was about to do, Tom had insisted on performing the majority of the more mundane but necessary Spellwork, like taking care of the Dursleys until now and activating the Rune circle, pushing his magic into the myriad of symbols. Once the last Rune had been activated, he cut off the magic feeding the two Stunning Spells.

Moments later, the two Dursleys began to stir. Given how dense they were, it took them quite a while to realise that they were no longer in the safety of their home but had been taken to a magical property. While Petunia's shrill screams filled the Ritual Chamber as she desperately but fruitlessly tried to escape from the magical cage, Vernon Dursley's beefy fists were banging against the magical restraints keeping the three major components from the Ritual separated. It was another reason in favour of using the Rune circle since it would ensure that the 'Offering' would not escape. The Sumerian Witches and Wizards who had created this Ritual had known what they were doing.

"Let me go!" Vernon shouted, his face an interesting shade of purple as he continued his futile efforts, now throwing his whole body against the invisible barrier, "release me, now!"

"No," Harry said resolutely, his unregistered Alder wand in his hand as he was staring at the Muggle in front of him, hate burning deep inside, increasing tenfold with every word that was spoken by his dear uncle, "your day of judgement has come."