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 40: A Sacrifice
The large boy struggled to stand up but did end up doing so despite his trembling body. "I-I'm… going t-to k-k-kill…" His bloodshot eyes were completely fixated on Harry now.
"Impressive that you can move so soon after receiving that discharge. Most wouldn't even be conscious at this point." Harry observed the boy with interest. It was clear he was gifted in some areas. His body was exceptionally strong and resilient.
Mulciber finally managed to get on his feet, and without hesitation, he lunged at Harry again, except that this time he didn't attempt to grab him. Instead of that, he went for a straight punch aimed at his face.
Harry lifted his wand, and half a dozen black ropes formed in the air, wrapping themselves around the large boy's body and stopping him in his tracks before he could touch him.
"Not very smart though…" Harry commented. Other than his gifted body, there wasn't much else to admire here. The boy was clearly not very good when it came to using his magic and instead preferred to fight like a Muggle.
That may be effective against apprentice-level opponents who weren't able to cast spells quickly enough.
But it was completely useless against an actual wizard with some experience.
"Grrr! Let me go!" Mulciber struggled against his restraints. Though this time, it was a lost cause. No matter how strong he was, those ropes were as resilient as steel cables and would not give way.
"Calm down. I will let you out of those ropes very soon…" Harry spoke in a calm tone while continuing to observe the boy.
Mulciber froze for a moment when he saw the way Harry was staring at him. He felt an intense danger, like something he had never felt before. It was like being stared down by a dangerous predator right before the moment to strike arrived.
"L-Look… I was sent by—mmmf!"
Harry moved some of the restraints to cover his mouth as well. "I already know who sent you, and it doesn't interest me in the least." He got closer and placed his hand on Mulciber's face. "What I want from you is something else..."
He then used his finger to pry open the boy's eyes and stared at them with interest. "You have great eyes as well… a very gifted body indeed. You must have perfect vision, yes?."
Harry took off his glasses for a moment. "Me, on the other hand… wasn't that lucky. Without these, everything over a foot away becomes extremely blurry. It is a disgrace to have a weakness such as this." He grinned. "But fortunately, that is something that can be remedied with magic… and you are going to help me with that."
"Hmmm!" Mulciber's eyes opened widely as the fear began to sink in. His instincts were screaming at him to run away; however, that was no longer a possibility.
He should never have agreed to attack Potter and knew that it was too late for regrets now.
"Shhh… it's going to be okay." Harry whispered as he approached his wand to Mulciber's face. "You are going to have the honor of being my first ritual in this new life."
Right after he said that, Mulciber felt something hitting him, and his vision went black.
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The large boy opened his eyes and found himself staring at some trees. He was confused and had no idea how much time he had been unconscious.
The first thing he did was try to move, but his body refused to respond.
He could only move his eyes around, and this was barely enough to notice that he was laying on his back on a patch of grass. His arms and legs were extended, and something had been drawn beneath him with black ink.
He couldn't see any ropes or restraints of any kind. But despite that, his body did not move an inch, no matter how much he wanted it to.
"Did you have a pleasant sleep? It took me a bit to finish all the preparations. You see… I haven't done this in a very long time, so I'm a bit rusty," Harry commented.
Mulciber heard his voice and immediately looked his way. He was horrified by the sight and tried to scream, but not even his mouth would obey him anymore. He had to suffer in silence.
Harry was carrying the decapitated head of a unicorn in his hand while it spilled blood everywhere.
"Oh, you're looking at this?" Harry pointed at the bloody head. "See… I needed some unicorn blood, but the damn beast didn't want to cooperate. So I ripped its head off. Now I have plenty of blood to assist me in the ritual."
He then proceeded to spread the blood of the unfortunate creature over specific points of the runic circle he had drawn beneath Inatius Mulciber.
"I think we are all set… let me see…"
Harry began to count with his fingers, going over all the necessary items and completely ignoring the look of horror on the boy's face, whose ultimate fate was becoming more and more clear to him.
"I have the flesh, the blood… It was fortunate I could raid Snape's cabinet and got some valerian root. I'm going to need it for this as well." Harry plucked a piece of the root and placed it in his mouth before starting to chew on it.
A moment later, he turned his attention to Mulciber. "I believe we are all set. Wait… I almost forgot." He took his wand and waved it towards Mulciber.
The boy felt a tugging sensation, followed by an intense cold that invaded his body. It was then that he realized all his clothes had been forcefully removed.
"Don't get any weird ideas…" Harry said as he began to take off his own robes. "This is just a necessary part of the ritual. No magical objects can be present, as they could interfere."
"Hmmm!" Mulciber tried to scream for help, but only a few soft sounds were all he could manage.
"Leave it. Your body is completely paralyzed. I used a potion for it… a very powerful anesthetic. It will take hours before you regain any control over your limbs," Harry explained as he continued to take off pieces of clothing.
Once he was completely naked, he entered the circle and glared down at the other boy. "That's a shame though… using this method also means this is not going to hurt as much as I would like."
Harry sighed. "Oh well… sacrifices have to be made in order to progress. Let us begin."
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