The same but different

Chapter 13 Solstice

The night of the 21st of December found Harry and Neville sneaking out of their dorm, silent as mice on their way down to the entrance hall. Cedric and Luna were already waiting for them, dressed in warm cloaks, eyes bright in the moonlight streaming through the window. They greeted their partners wordlessly, and the four of them walked together out of the castle and around to the stone circle, practically vibrating with excitement. Finally, it was time.

The winter solstice had arrived, and they were going to renew the school wards.

Neville approached the circle first. He was their ward master, their ritual master, and had been the first to offer his magic to Hogwarts back when they had built it. Now would be just the same.

They took their cardinal points, corresponding to their elemental representatives. Neville lit a fire at his own feet. Luna's hair was ruffled as the air began to swirl around her. The snow cleared in front of Cedric, the earth erupting in a small mound. Harry summoned the melted snow into a sphere of water floating between his hands. He closed his eyes, letting the cold seep beneath his skin and the water brush his fingers, grounding him as Neville began to chant. His magic flared to life, and he felt his friends' magic responding. Several moments later, the wards began to hum.

Before doing this, they'd worried Dumbledore might notice. As headmaster, the man was supposed to be connected to the wards. But it had become incredibly clear to them that the man had barely a tangential connection to the school; probably didn't want to relinquish any of his power, even in maintaining the safety of the students.

Neville's chanting grew louder, and Harry joined in, hearing Cedric and Luna do the same. The water in his hands swirled faster, his breath coming harshly. He could feel the wards connecting to his magic, taking what it needed and nourishing him in return. The castle sang as its wards, left to language for decades, were finally replenished.

It was like filling a bottomless well. Harry was appalled at how long the wards kept reaching for them - all four of them were far above average on the raw power scale, and yet he could feel the ritual tugging deeper into his core, yearning for more. He was going to be exhausted in the morning.

Finally, it was done. The castle stopped pulling, and the ritual washed over their own magic, neatly closing off the connections between them and the wards. Harry smiled to himself when he felt Cedric's magic reaching towards his like it couldn't help itself, brushing soothingly over Harry before retreating.

Neville went silent, and the sounds of the world crept back in. It took a few moments for Harry to stop hearing his own pulse in his ears, and he shook his head, letting the water between his palms fall to the ground. "Wow," he breathed eventually.

It was like the first time they'd built the wards all over again. The castle felt like it was part of him; he could feel every inch, every student and creature within its walls. He could sense every house elf working hard in the kitchens, every prefect out on late-night patrols, all the personal wards around the professors' offices and quarters - including some pretty heavy-duty wards around Snape's private stores. Harry let his search spread, gritting his teeth when he felt the familiar slickness of dark magic within their school. There were three signatures with darkness attached - two in the castle, and one over in the Durmstrang ship. And there was something awful, something that felt suspiciously like a horcrux in the Room of Requirement. Fury blazed through Harry; how dare Riddle put something so foul in a place so full of joy and innocence.

"We can feel it too," Neville said, looking grim. "It's another horcrux, right? Not the one you still have?" The horcrux that once resided in Harry's scar was still safely in his office in the Chamber; he could feel that too, but it didn't bother him as much.