The Painful Ritual

"It is indeed. Unlike the allure, people see something within you that truly exists. The allure simply attracts them to you, with no reason as to why they might be attracted. Make any sense?"

"A bit, I suppose. Is it possible for one to fight off the magical effects of the ritual."

Salazar sighed.

"For the last time, my dear boy, it is not nearly as magical as you think it to be. Simply put, people will have an easier time seeing you for what you are. Your traits will be easier for them to observe. Does that help rest your conscience?"

Harry nodded, still thoroughly put out. But when phrased that way, the ritual didn't sound nearly as bad as it had originally sounded, "Are there any other effects of the ritual?"

"Yes." The portrait replied, "It will help with the development of certain personality traits that you might find important. Should you feel a certain trait would be helpful, or desirable, you will notice that the trait grows more easily within you. It may be especially useful, as it could potentially help with the most basic steps of Occlumency, which I will brief you on at a later date."

That was more than fine with Harry, as it sounded rather useful.

"You said Riddle used this one?"

"He did." replied Salazar in the same dull tone he always used when talking about Voldemort, "It was the reason everyone thought him to be so charming. Everyone finds a charmer appealing, and so they easily saw it within him."

"Will it be the same with me?" asked Harry.

"You seem to know your manners fairly well, and are reasonably polite, so potentially, I suppose."

"Then I don't want to do it." Harry quickly said, "If it makes me like Riddle, I'd rather not do it."

"Tom Riddle was a boy, as are you. Does sharing a particular trait with him automatically make you bad?" asked the portrait scathingly, watching as Harry slowly shook his head, "You must think with your head, rather than your emotions. We'll have to begin working on Occlumency soon, to help with that. I had a rather similar problem before I learned Occlumency." The portrait paused for a moment, before asking, "Do you wish to continue with the rituals?

Harry nodded firmly, trusting his ancestor.

"Then bring out your wand. You have many runes to draw."

Many hours went by, Harry continuing to draw runes with his wand all the while. He barely understood anything he had written down, though Salazar assured him that he would be at a level where he would understand in a few month's time.

The stern portrait had Harry redraw any rune that was even slightly messed up, stating that a mistake in a ritual was not something one would be interested in experiencing, something which Harry agreed with wholeheartedly. After what felt like an eternity, Harry stood up, having just finished the final rune pattern.

Salazar scanned over his work for the next twenty minutes, checking for errors. When he found none, Harry moved over to his work, observing as he waited for instructions.

There were thousands of runes, most of which were part of one of two circles. The two circles connected similarly to a venn diagram, leaving a space in the middle where Harry would sit during the ritual. Inside each of the two giant circles were a number of smaller ones; two in the left one, and three on the right. This was where Harry was to place the magical components.

Salazar instructed Harry to place each of the ingredients in the smaller magical circles, based on which ritual they were a part of. After Harry did as told, Salazar quickly checked the rune work one more time before instructing Harry to place his wand out of the area and stand in the opening between the two larger circles.

"When you are ready, take a seat. That will begin the ritual." said Salazar, for once appearing slightly uneasy, "It may be a little painful."

Harry took a deep breath, before sitting down gently.

Salazar, you son of a bitch.

It was much, much more than 'a little painful'. Every bone in his body felt as though it were on fire. They seemingly burnt down to ash, before rebuilding themselves and repeating the process. Harry wouldn't even be surprised if that really was the case.

His jaw, as well as his cheekbones burnt as well; the pain in his eyes were so much that he forced them shut. He had previously thought the pain he felt in the woods of the World Cup was the worst he would ever feel. He hastily corrected that. Whatever this was, it was hundreds of times worse.

The pain suddenly stopped, leaving nearly every part of his body just as quickly as it arrived. What had been pain was now replaced by an uncomfortable burning sensation. His eyes, however, burned just as badly as before, perhaps slightly less.

He pushed himself off the ground, ignoring the ache of his muscles.

"Salazar, I'm going to burn your portrait for this one." Harry hissed in Parseltongue.

"Ahh, you're awake!" Salazar's voice came from somewhere in front of him, "You've been sitting there for about half an hour now, I was wondering when you would be done."

"Why are my eyes still burning? It's like the ritual hasn't even ended for them." asked Harry.

He was met with silence for a few moments, before he heard the portrait's voice, which was uncharacteristically filled with curiosity.

"It appears as though the ritual is trying to fix your sight."

"What? Will it work?" Harry asked excitedly. It had always been horrible, having to depend on glasses for everything. The moment he lost them, he would be easily defeated. It was pure chance that he hadn't yet lost them when in a dangerous situation.

"I am not sure." replied the portrait hesitantly, "The fact that it is burning as badly as you describe indicates that the ritual is having a tough time fixing it. We will have to wait, perhaps for maybe an hour or so until the feeling subsides. Then, we might find our answer."

It was undoubtedly one of the longest hours Harry had yet lived, which truly meant a lot considering his childhood largely comprised of being locked within a pitch-black cupboard. He lay down on the cold stone floor of the chamber, occasionally making small talk with the portrait. Salazar had helped him find his wand, and given him the incantation to a spell that lessened the pain quite a lot. After quite a while, the pain vanished entirely. Harry informed Salazar of the occurrence when it happened.

.....

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