Misery Loves Company
Rating: MA – Eventually
Authors Notes: Alright, so I am having a serious writers block when it comes to Love and Potion Blunders so I decided to try a little something new. I would really appreciate some feedback on this…I have no idea where I am going with this but I know eventually it will be Harry/Sirius.
Warnings: This is Slash people!! Don't like, don't read. Simple.
Misery Loves Company
By: Kitty
I used to love the rain. Now, I can't stand it. The rain patters against the dilapidated roof of Grimmauld Place with a sickeningly graceful rhythm. Nothing about this time is graceful and the fucking weather should learn to go along with the rest of the world. It's chaos out there. Oh, not that the bloody Prophet is reporting any of it, but that's what convinces me that everything is going pear-shaped.
The grey fog creeps lazily along the street and it makes me shiver just looking at the bleakness surrounding the decaying house. It must be mating season for the Dementors. Or maybe it's the house itself. Something has always been wrong with this ruddy house, without him it's insufferable. All I smell, hear, taste, and see here is death. There is a constant searching, clawing, snapping, choking shadow that creeps into me and sticks in the back of my throat.
The bed sheets were beginning to smell of the house instead of the man who once lay here so I cast a stasis charm on it. The bed smells right again. Yesterday I even found a strand of silky black curled into the fabric of the pillowcase. I saved it for….something, I don't know what yet but I couldn't just flick it onto the floor like I would with my own. It was his, after all.
"Master Harry, Kreature has making lunch for you. Miss Mud Blood and Mr. Blood Traiter is already eating" a rattling voice flows through the door and I draw the slightly plusher pillow over my head with a grunt. I wish they would leave me alone for just one day.
"Thanks Kreature, but I wont be taking lunch" I reply as formally as possible, removing the pillow from my head. Please go away, please go away, please go away.
"Kreature is knowing as much so he is bringing Master Harry a tray" the elf croaks before popping into the locked room without so much as a pause. He places the lunch tray on the edge of the bed and bows deeply, already beginning to pop away. Well, that went better than I expected. At least I didn't have to toddle downstairs to reprise my award winning role as Normal Harry.
"Thanks, Kreature" I whisper to the recently vacated room. It's just me and the house now. I feel the corners of my lips turn up in a sardonic smile and I begin to eat the soup that the house elf brought. Yum, potato cream. I was never allowed to have cream soups at the Dursley's. They were Dudley's favorite so I didn't get any. I never have to see them again, but the thought that I am eating a cream soup makes me grin.
Even as I pull a book from the bedside table and begin to read while I sip happily at my soup I can feel it. Something is wrong here, dreadfully wrong. The absolute unnaturalness of this house is distracting; it turns my mind from Horcrux Hunting and mindless moping… for that I almost welcome the abomination. Almost. Right, you are reading a book. Pay attention, focus. You have to find a way to destroy Horcruxes!
A Horcrux is a receptacle in which a Dark wizard has hidden a part of his soul for the purposes of attaining immortality. With part of a wizard's soul thus stored, the wizard becomes immortal so long as the Horcrux remains intact. For this reason, Horcruxes are typically hidden in a safe location. Even if the wizard's body is destroyed, a portion of his soul will remain preserved within the Horcrux. However, the destruction of the creator's body leaves the wizard or witch in a state of half-life, without corporeal form…
Fantastic, I already know that. Fuck! I was positive that the Black family library would have something about identifying and destroying Horcruxes. Blood Fuck! Alright, table of contents….ah ha!
Creation and Masking of objects, Wizardspaces, Usable Potion Ingredients, Horcruxes, Dream Spheres, Pensive Trespassing, Wand Craft, The Veil, Creature Blood and their uses in pure bloodlines, Interrogation procedures, Transpor…
Wait a tick. The Veil? Oh Merlin, THE VEIL! I flip the pages frantically, almost tearing some in my haste. There has never been any indication that there was written literature about The Veil. Bless you, Blacks and your insidious library!
The Veil was widely believed to be the barrier between the land of the living and the land of the dead. This is not the case. The Veil is a very powerful ancient artifact that was discovered previous to the construction of The Ministry of Magic building. Unable to remove The Veil, officials built a room around the artifact and sealed it within The Department of Mysteries. Only Unspeakables have access to study and observe The Veil within the Room of Death.
Although not much is known about The Veil, its origins, or its uses before 110 B.C., once the Ministry began research on the artifact itself it was discovered to be an arcane form of imprisonment used by the free roaming magical beings that once inhabited this region. Once a subject was forced through the archway, an immediate stasis overcame them thus keeping the assumed prisoner alive indefinitely until judgment was passed. By placing a person in this type of stasis, there was absolutely no way for escape or need for sustenance during the imprisonment period. Retrieval of persons placed within The Veil is relatively easy, requiring only a witch or wizard and a rather long rope with specific enchantments placed on it to keep the retriever from falling under the same stasis charm that prisoners were subjected to.
For full instruction, complete with steps and illustrations, see page 215.
I stare at the bottom sentence for well over five minutes, blinking sporadically. Retrieval of persons placed within The Veil is relatively easy, it said. I close the book gently, placing it safely back on the bedside table, and fall back onto the scented bed.
This is the way to bring him back, to bring myself back. I tried, Merlin knows I tried so hard but I just can't do this anymore. I hate feeling so… wrong. I need him just to get out of bed every morning. Plus, who else would know where Regulus would hide something important? This could be the lead we need to be able to find Slytherin's locket! Oh god, Sirius.
This is the first time in a very long while that I have allowed myself to think, speak or hear his name. I imagined it would be painful but it doesn't hurt like the ache does. Aunt Petunia always said it wasn't right to cry… God knew best. That's what she always told me after Uncle Vernon had taken the belt to me and left me to starve for days. I wonder if she deluded herself by thinking God wanted me dead. When I was little, I used to cry. I wish I could cry now, Sirius deserved it more than most, but I cant find the tears within the apathy. He took part of me with him and I thought I would never be able to get it back but now…now there is a chance to be whole again. I will bring him out of that wretched Veil if it's the last thing I do.
A few stings of fleeting hope entwine in my chest and I can almost feel The Shadow clamoring to take control, to take me back to the dark place but I can see it now. My light, my hope, my life, my Sirius. Oh yes, I know this is the answer. I can see it! Sirius and I searching for Horcruxes with 'Mione and Ron…Defeating Snake-Face once and for all, living together in a little cottage in the country. It's all so clear to me now! How could I have forgotten? Sirius was always my life ever since I learned the truth about him. It's only fair that I give him his own life in return.
With a renewed vigor, I spring from the bed, take my book from the bedside table and make my way out the door and down the stairs. I can hear voices drifting up to me but I cant be bothered with any of their idle chatter! I finally found the answer we have been looking for.
Entering the sitting room, I find Ron with his head pillowed on Hermione's lap…I suppose they are just as lost as I am.
"Harry!" Hermione yelps, jumping to her feet and pulling me into a hug.
"Oi, Harry! Good to see you, mate" Ron states, sitting up straight on the couch. Hermione finally pulls back and smiles at me hugely.
"Harry, we were beginning to worry" she smiles, pulling me to sit between the two of them.
"I found it" I say proudly, raising the book into their eye line. The look of wonderment on their faces is priceless!
"That's fantastic, Mate! I cant believe it, finally. Well, let us have a look!" Ron exclaims holding his hands in front of him like he is expecting to get a present.
"Ronald, if anyone should look at it, it's me! You wouldn't even know what you were looking at. Give it here, Harry" Hermione teases, taking the book from me with a tug. I manage not to tense up the minute the book leaves my hands but I assist her by finding the correct page anyway.
Hermione's eyes flash as she reads, a frown making itself at home on her face and she keeps giving me sad looks out of the corner of her eyes.
"Harry…I don't think this is what we need" she says tentatively. I grimace and snatch the book back from her with a soft growl. I knew she wouldn't understand. I mean, how could she? She didn't like Sirius from the start! 'He isn't a good role model, Harry' 'He isn't entirely well, Harry' 'You shouldn't get too close to him, Harry'. I love her dearly but she will never understand.
"Hermione, this is exactly what we need. Who else knows Regulus better than him? We can't do this by ourselves. We need an adult, we need help. This is the best plan" I state, giving her a look that dares her to disagree.
"Don't you think that maybe you have alternative motives about this?" she asks, placing her hand on my shoulder.
"Of course I do, 'Mione! But this is a good idea! I know that I've been off lately but that doesn't mean I'm barking. We need him… I need him. Please" I trail off and attempt to make myself look as pathetic as possible. I suppose it's not much of a stretch from what I look like normally these days.
"What exactly are we talking about?" Ron asks, glancing between the two of us and looking very confused.
"Harry has found a possible way of getting Sirius back" Hermione deadpans, emphasizing the word possible as much as one can.
"Really? Wow….it's just…wow" Ron says stupidly, blinking rapidly as though that will cement the idea further in his mind.
"Yes, really. This will work, I just know it will. 'Mione I am doing this with or without you but I really would like your help" I say, gentling my tone a bit near the end.
"Alright, Harry" she sighs, rubbing her temples. "But you must know that this is rather dangerous. What if the book is wrong and you just go jumping into The Veil with a rope tied around your waist and you never come back? You must promise me that if this doesn't work, you will stop fixating on it" Hermione blurts, grabbing my arm tightly in her small hand.
"I promise" I lie, smiling brightly. And the award goes to…
"Good" she sighs in relief, flipping the book to page 215 and beginning to read through the instructions.
"I just can't believe it. This could be exactly what we need, exactly when we need it" Ron states, shaking his head as though to wake himself from a dream.
"I know" I beam.
"That's the first smile I've gotten out of you since…since the end of the school year" he finishes lamely. I know what he wanted to say and I have never loved him more for not saying it.
"Yeah" I sigh. Well, if this works then I know I will be smiling almost nonstop for at least a week.
"Well, from what I can gather from the instructions, the act of retrieval can occur any time but the problem is how exactly we are going to get into the Department of Mysteries in the first place. The act itself is actually very easy; just a couple of Ennervate and restorative charms on the rope" Hermione recites, eyes never leaving the book.
"We could always go visit my dad" Rom says with a smile.
"Ronald! That would hardly be productive! We would be caught by Death Eaters and killed" Hermione exclaims, flailing her arms around wildly.
"I realize that, Hermione. I meant that we could use some polyjuice and go to the Ministry as people who need to see my dad and then sneak down to the Department of Mysteries" Ron says, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, yes well, that might work. We just need three peoples hair" Hermione replies with a slight flush.
"Well, we can use the cloak and just walk onto the street and pluck three hairs. Presto! Our disguises" Ron suggests loudly.
"Something like that" I say, knocking his shoulder slightly and receive an answering knock in return.
"Alright, I suppose you would like to do this as soon as possible, right?" Hermione asks, looking at me squarely in the eyes. I nod eagerly.
"Well I suppose if we can get the hair in time we can try today" she says reluctantly. I bounce up with a whoop and take the stairs two at a time. Reaching Sirius' bedroom where I have been living for the past few weeks, I grab my father's cloak out of my trunk and bound from the room and down the stairs. I don't think I have been this happy since Sirius asked me to live with him in third year.
"Got it" I shout, entering the sitting room rather dramatically.
"Yes, good. Luckily I have some Polyjuice already made so as soon as you and Ronald return with the hairs we can go" Hermione says, reaching for her purple clutch lying on the floor by the couch.
"Excellent" I say, grabbing Ron by the arm and pulling him under the cloak and out the door.
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A/N: Well, this is the first chapter. Let me know what you think. Do you think I should continue this story or totally scrap it and pretend I never posted it? I want to hear what you think so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!! The more reviews I get, the faster I update!!
Oceans of Love,
~Kitty