Some parts in this first chapter are taken from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 35, Beyond the Veil. These parts are in bold. Also in this first chapter, there may be some other similarities to the book.

Chapter 1

He was falling down steep stone step after steep stone step, bouncing on every tier until at last, with a crash that knocked all the breath out of his body, he landed flat on his back in the sunken pit where the stone archway stood on its dais. The whole room was ringing with the Death Eaters' laughter: he looked up and saw the five who had been in the Brain Room descending on him, while as many more emerged through other doorways and began leaping from bench to bench towards him. Harry got to his feet though his legs were trembling so badly they barely supported him: the prophecy was still miraculously unbroken in his left hand, his wand clutched tightly in his right. He backed away, looking around, trying to keep all the Death Eaters within sight. The back of his legs hit something solid: he had reached the dais where the archway stood. He climbed backwards onto it.

That's when Harry noticed the difference in the room, it was lighter now and instead of the stone benches that had once circled the whole room, the far-right side of the archway had been taken up by a neat row of towering shelves that looked less than structurally sound in Harry's opinion. Each shelf housed jars of all different sizes and colours, some of which Harry wouldn't be able to describe even if he spent hours staring at it.

But that wasn't what had drawn his eye, rather the eerie glow emanating from one of the smallest jars; a soft, whispering beat, beat; like the rhythm of a heart that seemed to impossibly fill the room. Harry felt a calm wash over him as he stared at it, it was talking to him he was sure, but not in the way the arch talked to him, those voices where sharp and urgent, this voice was safe. This voice was family.

"Potter, your race is run" The silky drawl of Lucius Malfoy pulled Harry from his sanctuary, and as his attention wavered from the mysterious jars he felt the calm drain away, leaving him bare and exposed to the cold of the stone room.

"What?" Harry said before his brain had chance to catch up, the sudden deprivation of the safety that the jar had provided leaving him somewhat unbalanced. The sound of laughter brought him back to the present and he threw his wand up in defence as he remembered the room full of Death Eaters, and the prophecy clutched in his hand.

"Tut, tut, Potter" Malfoy smirked "Perhaps not all that intelligent after all" He said, voice thick with condescendence as another smattering of laughter rolled round the Death Eaters in the room. None of them seemed phased by the jars and Harry noted that now his attention was diverted the jar was silent and had no effect on him.

"I'll give it to you" Harry blurted out, nodding to the prophecy. "Let my friends go and I'll give it to you."

The smirk still solidly in place, Malfoy opened his mouth to respond but Harry never got to hear it as at that moment a sudden shout drew all their attentions.

"NO! DON'D HARRY!" Neville's voice burst from one of the doorways and Harry felt his heart sink slightly, why couldn't he have just stayed far away from this mess? Somewhere he was less likely to be killed instantly.

"DON'D GIB ID DO DEM" The bloodied faced boy had appeared at the top of the room, Hermione's wand moving frantically to cover as many of the Death Eater's as possible.

"Oh dear." Malfoy scoffed sarcastically "The cavalry has arrived. Seems as though we will have no other option that to comply. Longbottom isn't it?" Harry noted there seemed to be a note of disgust in his tone as he studied Neville and he felt his anger spike at the idea that the cowardly man thought himself somehow superior to Neville.

Harry was startled as a manic screech of glee tore through the room. He whipped his head round to the sound, diligently ignoring the shelves of jars that no one else seemed to see.

Bellatrix was looking at the trembling figure that was Neville, her face though still haggard and ugly, was inexplicably transformed with a stomach churning excitement and Harry felt his own terror reflected on Neville's face.

But that wasn't all, Harry realised, there was something else in the normally reserved boy's face; a deep rage in Neville's eyes and Harry knew before it happened that the other boy was about to do something stupid.

"INCENDIO!" Neville screamed, blood spitting from his mouth. The stone bench Bellatrix had been stood on exploded in fierce flames and the demented woman was seemingly engulfed in fire. Harry thought he saw her body thrown to the floor a few feet away but he couldn't say for certain because with the impact of Neville's spell all hell broke loose.

"CRUCIO!"

"STUPEFY"

"REDUCTO"

"AVADA KEDAVA"

"STUPEFY…. STUPEFY!"

"IMPEDIMENTA. EXPELLIARMUS"

Spells rained down on Harry, the constant flashes of light were blinding and he couldn't even tell if Neville was still standing.

The Death Eaters obviously no longer cared about keeping the prophecy safe, and Harry even thought he saw the ominous green of a killing curse fly past his left ear, narrowly missing him. He ducked, keeping his head low and wand out as he ran for cover behind the shelves of jars.

"REDUCTO!" He shouted, sending one of the stone benches flying violently into a million pieces and successfully taking out three anonymous Death Eaters who had been heading his way.

"NO, YOU INCOMPETENT IDIOTS! THE PROPHECY! GET THE PROPHECY!" Malfoy's usually composed voice screamed, and although he couldn't see him, Harry had a sudden vision of Uncle Vernon; his face puce, spittle flying from the corners of his mouth and an unhealthy-looking vein pulsing in his forehead.

As Harry reached the cover of the shelves he frantically looked round, trying to get a glance of the other boy, any sign that Neville had survived.

Spell's were still flying through the air on the other side of the shelves, the Death Eaters hadn't realised his hiding spot, too busy recklessly tossing spells about to realise they were only attacking each other now and that their only two opponents were nowhere in sight.

He looked to the top of the steps, the last place he had seen Neville in the hope of seeing him there still. It was empty, the steps he had been stood on had been destroyed, scorch marks and rubble the only remaining evidence. Harry wanted to call for him, but knew to do so would give away his position, he would never be able to take on all the Death Eaters alone. It was only a matter of time as it was before he was found and killed, and somehow Harry was loathed to cut his life even shorter than it already appeared it was going to be. He just hoped some of the others would make it out.

At that moment, Harry saw a dark figure shift in the corner of his eye. About 15 feet away from Neville's last position there was a bloodied Death Eater, half his mask blown away and his eyes wild. He was moving along the top of the room, his gaze seemingly fixed on a point just ahead of him. Harry followed his gaze and with a jolt that almost froze his heart he realised the Death Eater was stalking a still prone figure. It was Neville. The boy was motionless, his face barely visible beneath layers of grime and blood and Harry felt the worse feeling go through him yet again that night. The feeling that yet another innocent life was lost because of him.

Before he had even realised what had happened Harry found himself once more facing the spells head on as he sprinted across the room, the pulsing glow of the jar and voices from the arch making it even more disorientating but the intense need to get to Neville pushing him forward regardless.

"FLIPENDO" The Death Eater that had almost been upon Neville was tossed backwards in a flail of undignified limbs, landing in a mangled heap and not moving again.

"Neville! Neville!" Harry called urgently as he reached the other boy, hands hesitating only slightly as they reached to check his pulse, unintentionally copying Neville's actions from earlier when Hermione had been hit by the unknown spell.

"Urgh… Harry?" Neville's voice was slow and slurred but it made Harry momentarily dizzy with relief that Neville was actually alive and well, if more than a little battered.

"M'fine" Neville said in a voice that was so far from fine it actually made Harry want to snort at the ridiculousness of the statement.

"Here, we need to get out" Harry told the other boy, wrapping his arms around his torso and making to heave him to his feet.

However, he didn't get far in his efforts, as he suddenly felt his legs pulled from beneath him. In what was perhaps his most ungraceful move yet, Harry once again found himself flat on his back and without breath. A soft groan beside him told him Neville had suffered the same fate. As he laid there, focusing on regaining his breath and stopping the now sickening spinning in his head, Harry realised the room had fallen into silence and calm, the pulsing of the jar once again being the only light.

"Really, Potter. Didn't that fool Dumbledore ever teach you to watch your back?" Malfoy's smarmy face slide into view above him and Harry found himself silently cursing. Stupid! Stupid! How could he have been so stupid?

So completely consuming was his need to ensure he hadn't been responsible for another friend lost he had left both of them vulnerable and probably sealed their fates.

"I'll take that." Malfoy effortlessly swiped the prophecy from Harry's loose grip. He apprised the unimposing orb with a self-satisfied smirk and a contented sigh.

"Thank you, Potter. You have been so helpful." The blonde wizard aimed his wand and the fallen boys face and Harry felt a horrendous fear seize him as he realised this truly was the end. He sent a silent apology to Neville.

"ADAVA KEDA-"

"STUPEFY!" Quicker than Harry though possible, Malfoy disappeared from his line of sight, the power of the spell used, sending him hurtling off his feet and into one of the many stone benches with a resounding crunch, the man unconscious long before he made his impact.

The suddenness of the spell not only shocked the remaining Death Eaters into motionless but it also caused the prophecy to fall from Malfoy's grasp as he was catapulted away. It was only Harry's seeker honed reflexes that allowed the young, trembling wizard to catch the thing before it smashed into his face.

As quick as he had caught the prophecy, Harry launched to his feet, a quick glance at Neville confirmed that the boy was still alive and staring in open mouthed relief at the new comers.

"Sirius!" Harry almost cried, finally catching sight of their newly arrived rescuers.

Sirius, Lupin and Tonks were stood on the far side of the room, Sirius' wand still pointing at where Malfoy had been standing, a murderous look on his face. Harry felt a mixture of fear and relief at the sight. Relief that backup had arrived but also a great fear for Sirius' safety.

The irony wasn't missed on Harry, moments ago he and Neville had been literally looking certain death in the face yet it was the full-grown wizard's safety he feared for. Harry just couldn't help the irrational terror, Sirius was his only family and the thought of losing him left him feeling horrifically hollow.

His godfather didn't get chance to reply as in yet another moment the battle was once more on, the two dozen or so Death Eaters broke free from their stupor as one and as fierce as ever attacked their new opponents.

"AVADA KEDAVA!" Harry launched himself sideways as a jet of green whizzed by him, he didn't even get a chance to raise his wand to respond as the offending Death Eater that had been rapidly approaching was slammed with a barrage of nasty looking spells that left him unresponsive in a pool of blood. Harry didn't want to guess at whether he was alive or not.

Looking over to where the spells had come from Harry saw Sirius, and somewhat surprisingly, Lupin with their wands trained on the now fallen Death Eater; evidently neither of them were overly chuffed with the dark wizards attempt on Harry's life.

"Harry!" Neville's worried shout caught Harry's attention, the other boy was more alert now and they both became suddenly aware of their prone position.

For the time being there were no more Death Eaters or their spells heading their way but both boys knew it would only be so long before someone decided attacking Harry and Neville was worth the apparently lethal wrath of Sirius and Lupin.

"Come on we need to get out" Harry told the other boy, pulling the both of them to their feet, and with more care than he had last time, pushed Neville in the direction of the nearest door. Shooting a few spells behind him as did just in case one of the Death Eaters choose to take advantage of his turned back as Malfoy had.

Reaching the door, Neville flung it open and hobbled through. Faced once more with the revolving room, Harry knew he couldn't go – he couldn't leave the three order members surrounded and outnumbered.

"Neville, go find the others. Make sure they're ok." Harry said hurriedly as Neville swung sharply, if a little unsteadily to him.

"I'm not leaving you Harry!" he said firmly.

"I'll be fine, I have to help Sirius." With that Harry slammed the door shut, cutting off any protests the other teen had been attempting and knowing that the likely hood of Neville finding this room again quickly was slim, even if he was smart enough to remember the spell Hermione had used.

Harry turned, not eager to leave himself exposed for too long. Immediately he found himself ducking, just in time, as a mean looking violet curse slammed into the door. The force of the spell caused Harry to be catapulted forwards, his hands rushing to cover his head as an image of splintered wood exploding in all direction passed through his mind.

Harry almost cursed thinking of the hole most definitely blown in the door and how it was probably going to be a big give away to Neville as to which room to choose. Now on his stomach Harry hurried to his hands and knees and crawled along the floor to take cover behind one of the marginally unscathed benches, a feat made awkward by the prophecy.

Once situated and fairly out of sight Harry gave the door a quick glance over his shoulder, hoping if Neville had come though he would have the sense to find a bench of his own to crouch by. Harry however had to do a double take. To his utter amazement, the door was completely unmarred and still stood solid, the powerfully spell had merely bounced off the wood harmlessly, Harry instead taking the impact of its rebound.

Taking some comfort in the knowledge that the door would hold strong, Harry turned his full attention to the sunken room, catching a glimpse of his godfather in the middle of it.

Sirius was fully engaged in a battle with two or three Death Eaters, backed up by a few other Order members that had arrived.

Seeing a Death Eater approaching behind one of the freshly arrived members, Harry barely had time to think of the spell before shooting it out. Kingsley, who had been the intended victim turned sharply as he heard the Death Eater fall behind him, he swiveled his head about the room, attempting to see who had helped him but he didn't see Harry and seemed to quickly dismiss the matter as he saw another Death Eater come his way.

Harry felt a twinge of anger at himself for hiding. Fighting a battle from behind a pile of rock seemed cowardly and far too Slytherin for him, but then again that Death Eater had himself been sneaking up behind his opponent, intending to attack a man with his back turned. Perhaps a taste of his own medicine was just.

Looking about the room, Harry saw several more Death Eaters attempting to pull similar lowly stunts, firing the nastiest curses at turned backs of various order members.

Fighting every urge to fling himself in the middle of the battle, Harry stayed put, aiming his wand and sending off quiet hexes and curses to those Death Eaters that attempted the cowardly move.

Harry was kept busy enough but there was only so much he could take, the positioning itself was causing every Gryffindor fibre in his body to scream and protest, and although plenty of the Death Eaters were more than eager to only attack the backs of their opponents, there were plenty more that had no problem facing them head on. The barrage of spells was seemingly never ending.

Harry was barely making an impact and despite the young wizards best efforts to protect everyone from his spot, he could do nothing but watch too late as a number of the order members were struck down by the underhand tactics of the Death Eaters.

A spell crashed into Tonks' back and Harry almost screamed in anger at his failure- the fight was to ferocious, he was unable to keep all opponents in his sight.

Harry did however see McNair throw his cracked mask to the ground and with a gnarled frown, raise his wand to Sirius. His godfather hadn't noticed the threat, too busy in a duel with a wizard that reminded Harry of Crabbe.

Harry reached his limit.

"Sirius!" he burst from his spot, not caring the attention he had drawn to himself with the loud shout.

"Expelliarmus!" He shouted without missing a beat, McNair's wand flying towards him while his body flew backwards. Harry let the wand dart past him, knowing it would likely be lost in the carnage, and instead ran the rest of the way down he steps, somehow managing not to trip as he hurtled towards the shelves and towards the Sirius.

At Harry's shout, Sirius had looked up, evidently shocked to see his godson still in the room before turning quickly to glance at where McNair had been. Harry could see a flash of something pass over his face, but Sirius didn't seem to let whatever it was distract him and in barely a moment he had turned back to Crabbe. With a growl, he hit the Death Eater with a painful looking jinx that sent him to the floor howling in agony as his skin began swelling and cracking.

"Harry! What are you doing?" Sirius turned to his godson, but his attention wasn't on him, it was still on the battle. He grabbed Harry by the shoulder in a bruising grip and pulled him behind him. Lupin moved in from the side and stationed himself next to Sirius, a hard look on his face. The two men acted as guards, or more likely shields, to the boy who lived.

Harry, now sandwiched between the two friends and the shelves felt an incredulous anger swell in him at being treated like a child, and by Sirius none the less.

"Sirius." He warned, his voice tight

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked instead over his shoulder, apparently missing or more probably wilfully ignoring Harry's anger.

His voice seemed far less rushed now and Harry realised that the emotion he had seen in the man when he first approached had been panic, and maybe even fear for Harry, although he couldn't be certain.

When he thought about it, everything about his godfather had screamed panic. Even now his body was held tight and stiff, although his shoulders had now dropped ever so slightly, not as tense as they had been just a minute or so prior.

Surveying the room showed Harry the reason for this, only three or four Death Eaters remained and Mad-Eye Moody's furious hail of spell after spell was keeping them more than occupied. It wasn't long at all before the remaining few were incapacitated.

"Harry?" Sirius now turned fully to Harry, finally willing to give him his full attention now that the danger was seemingly defeated.

Harry, realising he hadn't answered Sirius, rushed to reply.

"Yeah, yeah Sirius. I'm fine." Harry was suddenly hit by the memory of his vision, and although Sirius was stood right in front of him, looking for the most part well (disregarding the odd bump and cut he had picked up during the battle), Harry couldn't help the overwhelming dread at the fact that Voldemort had been torturing him. That he was almost murdered.

"What about you?" Harry was talking fast, stumbling over his words. "Voldemort, he had you. What did he do? How did you get away? Are you ok-"

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down, Harry." Sirius interrupted his stream of questions.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius was looking at Harry with worry and Harry felt a niggle of anger at his godfather feigning ignorance. Why was he denying it?

"I saw it Sirius!" Harry's voice was hard but still lined with his own worry.

"In a vision. Voldemort had you and he was torturing you!" Harry looked between Sirius and Lupin who had now also turned to face Harry. Sirius was frowning in confusion and Lupin looked concerned, but Harry was fairly certain his concern wasn't aimed at his friend, but Harry instead.

"Nobody had Sirius, Harry." Lupin finally said, slowly.

It was Harry's turn to frown in confusion now. He felt confunded.

Neither man seemed to be lying, both seemed genuinely confused in fact. But his vision, it had been so clear.

"But… but I saw it?" it was all Harry could say.

"I promise you, Harry. Voldemort didn't have me. I wasn't tortured." Sirius put his hands on Harry's shoulder, looking him in the eyes. "I don't know what you saw-"

Harry opened his mouth, ready to argue how real his vision had been and that he wasn't making it up, but Sirius was quick to counter him, speaking before he could.

"I don't doubt you saw something, not even for a second. But I promise you it wasn't me." Sirius was staring, unblinkingly into Harry's eyes, and Harry didn't miss the sincerity in his gaze. He was telling the truth.

"As if old Voldemort could catch me." Sirius smirked arrogantly, ending the gaze in a moment, his serious demeanour vanishing with it as he attempted to lighten the mood.

Harry however, was still somewhat lost in his confusion and only managed a half, non-committed smile while Lupin merely rolled his eyes at his friend's poor attempt at humour.

"Don't even try it, you!" Moody's gruff voice broke through the three of them, and they all turned to look. Moody was stood over a groaning Death Eater, it looked as though he had been attempting an escape when a swift kick from Moody left him winded. A quick silent spell from the experienced ex-Auror and the Death Eater was shackled. In fact, looking about the room, the majority of those who had been too injured to flee were now shackled, Lucius Malfoy included, much too Harry's delight.

Moody was moving quickly between the Death Eaters, ensure they were all restrained. Harry noted with some puzzlement that Mad-Eye seemed to be giving all the Death Eaters a hard kick, even those who were unconscious.

One in particular he gave a good three kicks too. Sirius laughed as he did and threw an arm over Harry's shoulder, obviously enjoying that particular Death Eater getting a booting.

"One more for luck, Mad-Eye." Sirius shouted when it seemed Moody was about to move on from the thoroughly abused Death Eater. Moody grunted but complied none-the-less.

"That's Rookwood. Sneaky bastard took out Tonks with a nasty little hex." Sirius explained, the smile on his face negating the seriousness of what he just said.

"Ehhh… she'll be alright though. Right?" Harry asked, remembering the screech Tonks had made when she was hit with the hex.

"Oh yeah, of course. A nasty hex but nothing more than fifth year level. Think your dad did worse to me." Sirius clarified, smiling wickedly at his godson.

Harry looked away from Sirius, feeling for some reason uncomfortable. Sirius was trying too hard. The jokes, the mention of his dad and the arm over his shoulder. None of it could fully hide the light of concern in Sirius' eyes when he looked at Harry. Lupin's worry was even more evident, the werewolf obviously not concerned with facades.

Harry felt slightly sick, was Voldemort really able to put false memories in his mind? What did it mean if he could? Nothing good that's for sure.

He had a sudden thought of Voldemort in his mind, watching him and creating whole false realities that Harry would never even be able to tell were fake.

Harry felt real, true fear at Voldemort doing just that, at controlling him… possessing him.

Harry's mind was in turmoil. He saw a shadow at the top of the room moving, curling as it reached out for him, he gasped aloud and took a physical step back.

"Everything alright, Harry?" Lupin asked, Harry's eyes snapped to him and he saw the older man share a quick look with Sirius.

Harry just nodded silently, steadfast ignoring Sirius. He wasn't sure he could deal with the fake smile again, and honestly, he was 100% certain he would completely break down on the spot if he saw the level of concern on Lupin's face reflected on his godfathers.

Although, saying that, Harry couldn't help but think that The Boy Who Lived ending up in the secure ward of St. Mungo's would be the obvious end to the year. It wasn't like most people weren't expecting it anyway.

Steeling himself, Harry looked back to the shadows. If Voldemort really was in his head, the least Harry could do was face him head on.

Catching sight of the fluttering shadow again, Harry frowned as he finally realised what it was he was actually looking at. It wasn't some nightmarish vision sent by the dark lord to deceive and murder him. It was a robe.

Harry's heart seemed to freeze as he felt a whole different panic settle in him. It was a robe, a Death Eater robe.

"Watch out!" Harry's scream barely had time to register with the rooms occupants before Bellatrix Lestrange launched herself from the shadows, her robes and skin charred and bloody and her voice shrill as she sent a curse careering towards Harry, Lupin and Sirius.

"CONFRINGO!"

Harry had never seen a curse travel so fast, it was as though Bellatrix had been stood a mere five feet away and not on the other side of the cavernous room. It all happened in a split second, and although Harry saw Lupin attempt to raise his wand in defence, there was surely no way anyone could react in time.

It was therefore a testament to Sirius' skills that he managed to move so fast. Just as Harry had, he must have realised that attempting a defence would prove fruitless and instead, acting on pure instinct, Sirius threw himself over Harry.

In a millisecond, Harry's world went dark and heavy, he never even got to see whether or not Lupin got his wand up in time, although considering what followed swiftly, Harry assumed not.

Smothered by his godfather's robes, Harry was unable to even draw a breath before the curse hit with a devastating explosion that sent the two of them flying off their feet.

Through a haze, Harry desperately clutched Sirius' now limp body. They still seemed to be falling and Harry was rapidly losing a battle against the encroaching darkness. As darkness took him, Harry felt a strong hand grasp his arm.

Then he knew no more.