A moment passed. Harry stared at woman, apparently called Mab, nonplussed. Monarch? Queen? And just what in Merlin's beard was an Unseelie?
Where was Hermione when you needed her? Harry thought wryly.
Mab, not amused be Harry's continuing silence, let out an impatient sigh. Her expression flickered with annoyance, lips pursing into a thin line. "I have answered thee human. Now tell me your name and your reason for being in my domain. Thrice I have asked, now you answer is due."
Harry straightened up, he did not know who this Mab was, but he would be damned if he let this woman intimidated him. He had defied Voldemort. This woman, queen or not, could hardly be a match for the Dark Lord. "Call me Harry and I'm here for that man." At this Harry pointed to the prone form of his godfather.
"This man?" Mab asked, her expression one of distaste. She nudged her foot against the ice covered Sirius. By now only Sirius's neck and face remained uncovered by the unforgiving ice. "Quite mangy looking, is he not?"
A surge of rage passed through Harry. "Don't insult him!"
"Oh, it seems I've touched a nerve," responded Mab, starring coolly. "Is he important to you?"
Harry did not feel the need to dignify that question with a response. Instead he started forward, keeping his wanted trailed on Mab all the while. The ice was still engulfing his godfather, now entombing his throat. He had to save Sirius, that was why he was there.
Mab remained silent and still, feline orbs following Harry's progression. Harry knelt down next to Sirius, twirling his wand around the two of them, calling up another Flagrate to protect against the cold.
Upon closer inspection Sirius was not immobile as it had seemed, he was shivering. Uncontrollable shivering shook his form, his body almost seemed to be undergoing spasms. His skin was now a dull blue shade, ice and snow were fleck in his hair and on his eyebrows.
"Incendio," Harry intoned clearly, drawing his intent and magic to one purpose.
Whereas Flagrate had been an almost fiery rope, the Incendiary charm came more like a miniature flame thrower. Orange-yellow flames licked the ice covering Sirius's chest, Harry felt the heat spell on his face.
C'mon, He silently urged.
But it was to no avail. He pulled back his wand, simultaneously halting the magic. There was not a single depression in the ice, in fact the places where the flames had touched seemed to be even more thickly coated in frozen water than before.
"That will not work, human." Mab said slowly, as if speaking to a small child. "In this place only I can choose whether he lives or dies. Only I can halt the progression of the ice or speed it up if need be."
Perhaps to prove her point, the ice covering Sirius receded to his waist and in the blink of an eye surged back up to his chin.
Harry looked up, staring at Mab. "Free him."
"Your impudence is fast losing it's novelty, child. Who are you to make such demands of me?"
Impressive as the display with ice may have been, Harry was not cowed by the Unseelie Monarch. Here was a woman before him, wandless and defenseless. Harry was confident in his ability to defend himself and if necessary to force her into helping Sirius. "Free him."
Harry steeled his gaze and stared directly into Mab's slitted orbs. Mab's visage, unnatural in it's beauty twisted into something cruel and ugly. And Harry's world exploded with pain. He could not remember ever feeling so much pain; the basilisk bite, burns form the dragon, Voldemort's Crutiatus. None of it came close to the sheer agony he felt.
He felt like he was being choked, drowned, and burned all at once. He tried coughing only to find that even that had become impossible. At one point two heartbeats pounded in Harry's ears. Unbeknownst to Harry, he had slumped down onto Sirius's chest, his head coming to rest over his godfather's heart.
And yet through all this Harry's eyes were locked on Mab's ever-changing eyes. Amongst all the pain Harry could recall memories. His life flashed before him:
"No, not Harry!" Lily pleaded…
"GRYFFINDOR!" roared the Sorting Hat…
"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken." Wormtail cut Harry…
"Clear your mind, potter." Snape commanded, advancing menacingly…
Clear your mind…
Legilimency! Harry came to the realization that Mab had broken into his mind. With an effort comparable to lifting a boulder off his body, Harry tore his gaze from Mab's.
The pain receded to the level of something akin to being beaten with a sledgehammer, but it was a relief nonetheless. Harry could move once more, or at least he would have if the same ice covering Sirius had not engulfed his own form. He and his godfather were not fused together with ice, Harry covered up to his chest and Sirius now fully entombed.
He's gonna die…I'm gonna die. Harry thought grimly.
"Harry Potter, Boy-who-lived." Mab murmured aloud. "And Sirius Black, convict. It seems I have visitors from one of the Far Realms."
Harry, too preoccupied with his imminent death only barely heard the Winter Queen. Tendrils of ice were snaking up his cheeks, licking his skin and bring with it a trail of cold agony.
"Child," started Mab, breaking Harry out of his reverie. "I have a proposition for you."
The ice continued onwards, coming up from behind, freezing his unkempt hair.
"It's quite simple," Mab continued. "I will free the both you and your godfather in exchange for a favor. A single favor."
If Harry still had control of his muscles he would have frowned. A favor?
"I will call you when I see fit and you must complete a task for me. Simple enough is it not?
One of Harry's eyes was suddenly obscured by ice.
"Either that or die here mortal. Do you accept?"
Ice began covering his mouth, choking him. Harry gasped for air and coughed out a single word. "Y-yes"
--
There was a sudden rushing sound and Harry felt his body pass through a curtain of some sort before impacting on a hard concrete floor with an audible thump. He heard a similar thumping sound to his right and looked over to see the unmoving form of Sirius. There was a slight rise of his chest followed by it's descent. The motioned continued and Sirius seemed to be stirring. He's alive.
"If you should ever have need of me, speak my name thrice." A voice rang into Harry ears, soft and feminine caressing his thoughts. "And do not forget the favor you owe me."
Mab, Harry realized. Hearing the message and understanding Mab had kept her part of their deal he took time to assess his situation. What he had earlier assumed to be a curtain, was actually the tattered black Veil. It was rippled softly, coming to rest. He and Sirius had landed on the edge of the large stone dais that the archway was centered on. Only a few inches from the edge.
At least we didn't fall of that too. That would have been even more pain.
He recalled his earlier torture only to find he could not recall anything he had felt before. Not the lingering agony Mab had inflicted upon him nor the after effects of almost freezing to death.
Around the dais, sounds of duels rang out. For all intents and purposes it seemed as if all Harry had done was nothing pass through the Veil. Literally, no time seemed to have elapsed.
Lupin was staring straight at Harry, his hands still outstretched before him. An expression of disbelief etched on his face. His eyes shifted to where Sirius lay and he paled, not believing his eyes.
There was Dumbledore stepping down the raised stone steps, using invisible ropes and pulling Death Eaters out of their duels without so much as looking strained. He turned his invisible robe spell to Bellatrix Lestrange only to have it blocked by the tell-tale shimmer of the Shield charm. She turned and fled up the stars. She was escaping!
Satisfied that Sirius would be properly tended to and that Dumbledore could handle things, he tore after his godfather's would be killer. From there it was a blur. Harry remember passing a groaning Luna who was with Ginny. There was Ron who was giggling feebly and an unconscious Hermione both of whom he sped by. He came to the Rotating chamber only to see a blur of doors, but even that did not impede him. "STOP!"
The Room halted abruptly, a door to his right flew open and a long corridor with a clattering lift stood before him. He got there in time to see the magical elevator close behind Lestrange. In a stroke of brilliance, or perhaps common sense Harry bounded up a previously unseen staircase. After all if there was lift, then surely there were stairs.
He climbed. One flight became two which gave to three. Harry did not bother counting the flights but he soon found himself in the Atrium, right next to the Fountain of Magical Brethren. He ran forward, coming to a halt in front of the rift. It banged and clattered noisily as it lifted up the shaft. There was a small ping as the lift reached the floor of the Atrium. The door began sliding open, but Harry did not wait for it's occupant to gain her bearings. "Stupefy"
A red jet of light burst free from Harry's wand crossing the short distance between the himself and the elevator within second. The doors widened, and spell shot through the gap-
Only to splash harmlessly on the back of the lift.
"Wittle Hawwy thought he was cwever," Bellatrix whispered in to Harry's ear. Her wand pressing against his temple. Her tone suddenly became, cruel and completely mad. "But the filthy halfblood didn't know wizards could Apparate."
A trap! Gears shifted in Harry's head, he could practically see it. Bellatrix Lestrange knowing that someone would pursue her, leads them on a wild goose making sure her pursuer caught a glimpse of her using the rift. The trailer, confident in their own brilliance, would think to cut her off. But Lestrange had thought ahead and used the clattering of the rift to mask the crack of Apparation. Appearing in the Atrium, it would have been simple for her to Disillusion herself and wait. Harry had fallen for it hook, line and sinker.
"Now Potter, I am going to give you your last chance!" shouted Bellative, temporarily deafening Harry. "Give me the Prophecy and I won't torture you till your brain becomes pumpkin juice"
"It's gone…destroyed," Harry responded with more bravery than he felt, all the while turning to look over his shoulder at Lestrange. "Smashed in the Veil chamber."
Harry felt his scar burn and his eyes water inexplicably once he spoke those words.
"Liar!" Bellatrix hissed. "Accio Prophecy! Accio Prophecy!"
But nothing came. Harry could not help but laugh, the pain in his scar reached a fever pitch. "Voldemort won't be happy will he?"
Harry found himself knowing the answer, as his scar exploded with pain. Stars danced across his vision, but Harry remained alert. After what Mab had done Voldemort's anger was almost cathartic.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" shrieked Bellatrix, wand digging into his skull. "Ava-"
"Expelliarmus! Incarcerous!"
Harry felt Bellatrix's wand fly away from his skull and spun around in time to see thick, magically conjured ropes bind her arms to her torso. Harry did not have to look to up to see the caster. That voice was one he would recognize anywhere.
"Look's like I got here in time, eh Harry?"
A smile tugged at Harry's lips. "Sirius…"
His godfather strode towards him, weather-beaten but decidedly not dead. His skin was pale and frost still covered his hair.
"WHAT?!" Bellatrix cried out, her eyes bugging out their socket. "HOW DID-WHO-WHAT?" Her voice dropped considerably, becoming a hiss. "I killed you!"
"It seems that surviving supposedly deadly things runs in the family." Sirius flashed a grin in Harry's direction. And Harry felt his heart leap, Family. Sirius considered him family.
"You've failed Bella. All your friends have been captured, no one died and the Prophecy has been destroyed. No ones coming to save you."
Harry screwed his eyes shut in sudden pain, his head was being ripped open and he could acutely feel a fury that wasn't his.
"No one, Black? Surely I must count as someone"
Sirius and Harry both turned simultaneously. Their eyes came to rest upon a sight horrible to behold. Tall, thin and donned in robes of the darkest black, Voldemort stood before them. His snakelike visage, pale and gaunt, was twisted with a terrible fury. Red slit-pupiled eyes stared back at them. His wand, bone white, was trailed on their location.
"Thwarted again by Harry Potter," spat Voldemort. "Months of preparation, carefully laid plans, vigilant scouting. All for naught. Only because those whom I trust to be competent cannot out duel a few obtuse schoolchildren."
"Master!" Bellatrix cried. "We Tried- I tried. T-they had reinforcement! D-dumble-dore is here!"
"Excuses! It seems Azkaban had dimmed your usefulness to the cause," Voldemort hissed. "Avada Kedavra!"
But the spell was not aimed at Lestrange, as everyone seemed to think it would be. Instead Harry found himself in the path of the oncoming Killing Curse. His mind was blank, he would not be able to react in time. He saw Sirius's stunned visage, he too was caught unaware by Voldemort's abruptness.
A shadow fell across Harry as a man made of gold stepped down in front of the path of the Killing Curse. The wizard from the Statue of Magical Brethren had apparently come to life. The spell rocked harmlessly against the chest of the statue, rocketing off into wall of the Atrium.
Voldemort looked up unsurprised. "Tell me, Dumbledore. When did I ever step in a rosebush and get all these thorns in my side?"
Dumbledore stepped out of the golden gates of the lift, his long robes of deep silver trailed on the ground around him. He strode forward, placing himself in front of Harry, Sirius and the bound Bellatrix. Facing Voldemort who stood before the ministry guard's empty desk. "You know better than to have come here, Tom. The Aurors are on their way-"
"Sending men to their death now, Dumbledore? We both know the worth of Aurors."
"Arrogance was always a trait you never lacked, Tom. Sometimes, I wonder how so many teachers found you to be such a charismatic student."
Harry watched as Voldemort suddenly snarled, losing his composure. "Do not use that name!"
Dumbledore seemed to pay little attention to Voldemort. Instead he tilted his head in a small half turn looking at Sirius. "Sirius, you must get Harry to safety. Headquarters has been compromised, take Harry to the other safe spot. I will come and collect the both of you once I've finished here."
"And you call me arrogant," began Voldemort. "Bellatrix now!"
The fallen Death Eater, previously bounded by thick magical ropes, had taken the banter between the two greater wizards as an opportunity to wriggle free of her prison. Her wand, earlier disarmed, was now gripped firmly in her hand. The worst part was that she had been only meters from Harry and Sirius the whole time. At Voldemort's call, A jet of green light rocked from her wand. The unmistakable green of the Killing Curse.
Her closest target, Sirius, did not have enough time to even consider dodging. Time seemed to halt, taunting everyone's inability to react. The light struck him squarely in his chest. Harry saw the mirth, mischievousness, and life fade from his godfather's eyes. Sirius body gave out below him, he crumpled to the floor- dead.
Dead.
Dead
Harry felt a rage that he knew no human should possess. Whereas in the Veil Chamber he had not been sure of Sirius's supposed death. He felt tears well up in the corners of his eyes. So clouded with grief and rage, Harry did not notice Dumbledore binding Bellatrix once more. This time with his seemingly invisible ropes. He did not notice Voldemort sending another Killing curse in his direction, again blocked by the golden wizard statue. Nor did he note Dumbledore rush forward to animate the golden statue once more.
He could only stare at the fallen Sirius, he looked to his right and saw the bound Bellatrix. Harry was not aware of raising his wand. He was not aware of shouting out the most terrible of unforgivable. He was not aware of the moment when Bellatrix's life fled from her.
Both Voldemort and Dumbledore looked over, surprised. Voldemort's eyes alight with glee. Dumbledore's with pity.
"Tom, must you cause so much pain?" started Dumbledore, his tone uncharacteristically cold. "This has gone on for far too long, now we duel."
And the two titans fought.
Harry rushed forward, coming to kneel at his godfather's form. The gold statue met his pace, protecting him from the duel that raged on beside him. To those asked him later, Harry would denying sobbing. However, He would admit to crying. A heart wrenching, gut stirring, embarrassing in any other situation, cry.
Moments passed. Harry could not even guess how long. Hours? Minutes? Seconds?
He looked up. Despite the situation, Harry could not help but be impressed. Wow…
Dumbledore wielded an elephantine globe of water, shimmering blue, alight with magic. Voldmort was visible only as a faceless, indistinct mass in the heart of the sphere. He seemed to be thrashing, struggling to throw off the suffocating liquid.
And then he vanished.
Harry made a move to meet Dumbledore, but the old wizard turned to him. "Stay where you are, Harry!"
A curious note was present in his voice, fear? For the first time all night, Harry felt fear himself. But the emotion was not given time to flex it's hold on the boy-who-lived. His scar exploded, white hot, his nerves on fire. Mab was torturing him again, the pain was so much.
In his agony, Harry felt his jaw moving of it's accord. "Kill me now, Dumbledore…"
Harry was in pain beyond death.
Please, Dumbledore, thought Harry. Kill us…make the pain stop…nothing compares to this….at least then…
…at least then I'll be with Sirius.
A terrible shriek rang out then. Filled with pain and agony that Harry could empathize with.
What followed, happened so fast. Voldemort appearing again, only to disapparate.
Fudge and Aurors strolling in to see it…
Dumbledore speaking to the Minister…
Being handed a portkey…
Waiting in the office…
The Prophecy…
--
Harry looked around the Headmaster's office, now decorated in the glittering silver of Dumbledore's destroyed possessions. The prophecy reverberating in his head. Neither can live while the other survives…
…His equal
Bloody Hell, Harry thought. We're doomed.
"Harry," said Dumbledore softly, interrupting Harry's grim musings. "What you did-"
"She deserved it!" Harry interrupted. "She killed Sirius. I killed her."
Dumbledore sank into his chair and let out a deep sigh looking every bit as old as he was. "Your actions, well motivated though they were, were rash and unnecessarily cruel. However, we must speak of this later. What I was referring to was your passing through the Veil. It is imperative you tell me what happened there, leave nothing out."
And Harry did so. He recounted his arrival in the place Mab had called Arctic Tor. He told of the garden and his conclusion that it was a prison. He told Dumbledore of seeing Sirius and meeting Mab-
"Mab?" Asked Dumbledore. "Are you certain that is what she called herself?
Harry nodded.
His expression, Dumbledore's that is, grew pensive. "Continue."
Harry told how he had undergone terrible agony and how he had bartered with Mab.
Dumbledore stared at Harry, expression unreadable as he gazed on from behind his half-moon spectacles. "This, Harry, complicates things a great deal."
"I don't understand, sir. What is the Veil- Why is Mab so powerful- What was that-"
The headmaster's chair scratched the floor as he abruptly stood, traveling over to a tall bookcase on his right. Dumbledore's eyes scanned the shelf, coming to rest on a old weathered tome. He drew it from the shelf, flicked through it quickly, pausing here and there. Minutes passed. "Forgive me, Harry. I must reacquaint myself with my knowledge of Fae."
He paused, turning to face Harry. "Listen carefully, Harry. The Veil connects our world to another, it was an attempt by the Ministry, specifically the Department of Mysteries, to unravel the mysteries of death and they failed. Quite spectacularly if I might add. They did connect with the spirit realm so to speak. But not the one that they wanted, they found a magical realm, known as the Nevernever."
"So that's where…?"
"Yes, Harry. But, understand thought the magnitude of the Ministry's discovery They discovered a new realm of beings, new races, new magical creatures. These were the Seelie and Unseelie, the former belonging to the court of Summer and the latter being of Winter. Each court had it's unique set of beings but the rulers of both sects were similar, Fae. Devilishly tricky, cunning and deceptive are the nature of Fae. Not to mention they posses immense power."
"What did the Ministry do?" Asked Harry, curious. "And why don't many people know about all this?"
"Well, naturally, being British, the Ministry attempted to colonize the place." A twinkle briefly appeared in Dumbledore's eyes, before disappearing. However, they failed."
"Failed, sir?"
"I supposed slaughtered is the more accurate term," said Dumbledore grimacing, "Out of one hundred wizards part of the expedition, only two survived. The newly christened Death Chamber and all further dealing with the Nevernever were cut off. Every worker of the Department and those involved were henceforth known as Unspeakables. For what had occurred became classified information, a story unspoken."
"So why don't these all powerful being come over and slaughter us all, or tame us or whatever?"
"The Nevernever touches multiple realms, We have the vast fortune of being in a realm far from their reaches."
Visitors from the Far Realm…
Dumbledore continued, ignorant of Harry's musings. "Even if that were not the case. Fae do not act in the manner one would expect nor are they free to exert influence willy-nilly. They only have as much power as you give them. The two survivors of the expedition were hunted by a large manner of strange creatures in the years following the expedition. It was a terrible time, they had unwittingly given the Seelie and Unseelie a means of interfering in this world. Countless people died, wizard and muggles both. Even worse both were ignorant of the cause. It was not till one of the survivors died till the Fae were unable to commune with this world."
He paused. "The terrible agony Mab put you under was because of the influence you gave her. Trespassing in the heart of her domain and giving her your name, for names mean a great deal to Fae. This was enough to give her means to torture you. Now you are beholden to the Fae, you owe one of their Queens a favor."
Harry paled, realizing a little of what had happened. "What does that mean? Owing a favor can't possible be that bad."
"You misunderstand, Harry. The favor, terrible though it may be, is not the crux of the matter. Once more, the Fae have a means to interfere with this realm. Through you."
"Sir," began Harry, feeling panic. "How can you be so sure? How do you know all this?"
Dumbledore shelved the tome he was holding. "Two people survived that expedition, Harry. One was a wizard by the name of Fabian Moore, the one who met his end at the hands of the Fae. And the other-
He stopped to look at Harry over half-moon spectacles. "-was myself."