To Save A Squib
a Harry Potter fan-fic
by Ozma
A sequel to "The Way of the Squib"
Chapter 4: Out of the Frying Pan
Everything in this story really belongs to J.K. Rowling
When I heard the high, cold voice of He Who Must Not Be Named, I
was terrified. My first coherent thought was full of regret and anger.
Mrs. Norris's kittens... I wasn't going to live to see them born. It
wasn't fair...
The Dark Lord moved towards the battered Gryffindor Animagus and
me. The red light of the rising sun outlined his unnaturally tall, thin
body. I could not help staring at him in horrified fascination. The
blood-red slit-pupiled eyes glowing in the skull-white face, the flat
nose with slits for nostrils, the pale, long-fingered hands... he did
not look human; he was a creature of Darkness, wearing a human-like
shape.
As terrible as the sight of him was, the feel of the Dark magic
that surrounded him was worse. His presence was an assault against every
sense I possessed.
I would have been moaning with fear, but I could not make a sound.
The Gryffindor Animagus, injured though he was, moved protectively
between me and the Dark Lord.
He was too badly hurt to last long against this evil creature. The
Gryffindor's breathing was more ragged than ever. The Death Eaters had
tortured him. His left arm was wrapped around his side. He coughed
painfully, right hand over his mouth. I saw his hand come away with
blood, bright red, on his fingers. He was broken and wounded, deep
inside.
The Animagus might still have the strength to Apparate. He held
the small grey stone, really a Transfigured girl named Callandra
Moffitt, hidden in his left hand.
Callandra, a fifteen year old Squib, had been kidnapped by Death
Eaters and rescued by this wizard and myself. He could Apparate with her
to safety!
Too frightened to speak, I willed him silently to go! To take
Callandra and leave me!
The Animagus remained where he was, between the Evil One and me.
It seemed that he was determined to save both Squibs.
He took a stumbling step towards the Dark Lord, his feet rustling
through the leaves in this small clearing. The sounds muffled the soft
noise as, casually, he let the stone that was Callandra fall from his
hand. I saw the stone resting, half-hidden, among the leaves. Just a
small, grey unremarkable stone... nothing worth the Dark Lord's notice.
Even if Voldemort killed us, as it was likely he was going to do,
Callandra would be safe.
Safe, but a stone!
"Gryffindor idiot!" I thought. I was not worth the child's life.
The Animagus should have been content with saving her. He was reckless,
foolish... Severus had been right.
Poor Severus. I could not help wondering if his "carefully
calculated risks" had included the possible arrival of He Who Must Not
Be Named. I couldn't ask him because he was now trapped beneath the
ruins of Malfoy's tower with the other Death Eaters. I did not even know
if he was alive.
Voldemort's red eyes locked on the Animagus. He smiled a terrible
smile.
"Well met, Sirius Black."
******
"S-Sirius... B-Black...?" I tried to say it out loud. My mouth
moved, but no words came out.
This could not be true!
The Animagus could not be Sirius Black!
Sirius Black was a loyal follower of the Dark Lord! He'd betrayed
James and Lily Potter. He'd murdered Peter Pettigrew, along with a
street full of innocent, unsuspecting Muggles!
He was a fugitive from Azkaban!
A mad, dangerous Dark Wizard!
Everyone knew these things!
He'd been a wicked child too. Primarily responsible for the dark
streak of malice that was evident in the worst of the Marauders'
mischief. I'd known he was a bad one, ever since he was eleven years
old!
But... he'd saved Callandra.
Severus, who had to know who the Animagus was (though he'd been
wise enough not to tell me) had called Black an agent of Dumbledore's.
Snape and Black had despised each other since their first year at
Hogwarts. I had watched their mutual hatred grow deeper over time. But
now they'd been working together to save the girl.
The Headmaster himself had ordered Black to watch over Callandra.
I had seen Black at Hogwarts, playing with Potter and his friends,
accepting food from the boy's own hands! Surely, Black been there with
Dumbledore's full knowledge and approval.
And, now nearly unconscious on his feet, Sirius Black was bravely,
albeit recklessly and foolishly about to loose his life trying to
protect me from the Dark Lord.
As much as I'd always disliked the boy, as much as I'd hated the
man, it was obvious to me that Sirius Black was not a loyal follower of
the Evil One.
Hatred for He Who Must Not Be Named was evident in every line of
Black's body. He was trembling, with pain and rage, not awe. He
certainly did not fall to his knees to kiss the hem of the Dark One's
robes.
Instead, Black tried to spit at the monster. Blood stained his
mouth.
"Well met, indeed..." Black rasped.
His hoarse, pain-filled voice was barely recognizable as the same
one that had belonged to the wily child, always so pleased with his own
cleverness.
"Were you expecting to find your loyal followers waiting for their
Master...?" Black continued, harshly.
Jerking his head in the direction of the pile of rubble that was
the fallen tower, he gave a harsh, barking laugh that left more blood
flecks staining his mouth.
"Take a good look! Nothing's there. Just ruins. And bodies in the
ruins..."
The Dark Lord looked past us, through the trees to where the tower
should have been.
Shock and anger flared in the blood-red snake's eyes.
Black began laughing. An agonized laugh, that quickly became a
helpless coughing fit.
"What..." The Evil One hissed, glaring at the Animagus, "have you
DONE?"
"Given you some of your own back..." Sirius snarled, when he could
talk again. His pale eyes were snapping fire, the only things that
looked alive in his bruised and battered face.
"Go on. Search through the rubble. Maybe you'll find some of them
still living," he sneered.
The Evil One hissed like a boiling cauldron. His wand was suddenly
in his hand.
He spoke angrily, and the words sounded like nothing in any human
language. It was like the whisper of a brutally cold winter wind,
through dead, dry leaves.
The spell picked Black up like a rag doll. The Animagus landed,
hard, on the ground, beside me.
I winced. The sound of breaking bones had been sickening and
unmistakable.
Black cried out in agony.
"You idiot!!" I cried, finding my voice at last. "Why didn't you
leave me when you had the chance?"
Radiating Darkness, He Who Must Not Be Named stalked towards us.
My battle with Lucius Malfoy had left me too weak and badly hurt
to stand. Still, I dragged myself forwards, trying to get between the
monster and Sirius Black.
Black lay crumpled on his side. He was still conscious, his eyes
full of agony.
"D-didn't want you to know who I-I was..." he whispered, almost
wryly. "B-because you *never* believed me whenever I t-tried to tell you
that I hadn't done s-something wrong. Knew you'd never believe I was
innocent..."
"I never believed anything you ever told me, because you were
always guilty, before!" I snapped.
There was no time for me to say anything else. The Evil One had
reached us.
The Dark Lord ignored me, speaking to the Animagus.
"I have a use for you, Black. Both you and Dumbledore's pet Squib
shall have the honor of serving me," He Who Must Not Be Named hissed. "I
will let you live."
"But, a small lesson is still in order."
The Dark magic that surrounded the Evil One surged.
It was warning enough.
"Are you ready, Filch?" Severus had asked me, before he'd brought
me to this place.
"Do you have everything you need?"
"Yes," I'd said.
As things turned out, I had not needed Rita Skeeter's little
trinket to fight the Death Eaters. But it was the only weapon available
to me now.
"Crucio!" The Dark Lord hissed, raising his wand.
My fingers closed around a small hand mirror in my pocket.
*******
I'd thought that it was just an ordinary mirror. It had been in a
file drawer in my office for years. But, when I'd used the thing on poor
Alastor Moody, he and I had discovered differently.
"This mirror was made for casting spells. And it's got a defensive
spell on it too, for good measure. It reflects magic back, with nearly
twice the original force," Mad Eye had told me.
I'd wanted to ask Moody if he thought that the little mirror was
capable of reflecting back spells as powerful as the Unforgivable
Curses.
But I'd been too afraid of what might happen. My teacher shares
Severus Snape's tendency towards what Slytherins refer to as "Calculated
Risks." (Slytherins refer to similar behavior in Gryffindors as
"Reckless Stupidity." Both Slytherins and Gryffindors will insist that
there's a world of difference between the two. I can't see it, myself.)
Moody probably would have experimented by casting an Unforgivable
Curse at me, just to see what would happen. The results would have been
painful, for one or both of us. I did not want to suffer harm myself,
and I did not want to hurt Moody. So, I had not asked, and the mirror
was all but untested.
*******
The Dark Lord's Cruciatus Curse struck Rita Skeeter's Mirror,
instead of Sirius Black.
It reflected, striking He Who Must Not Be Named with nearly twice
its original force.
The Evil One's scream was a terrible thing to hear. A cold, high
piercing wail that seemed to go on forever.
My screams were swallowed up in his.
The Curse had not struck me or Black. But the mirror had
shattered.
The Dark Lord had put so much power into his Curse that every bone
in my right hand shattered, along with the mirror. The spell's shock
wave ran down my right arm, to my shoulder, pulverizing the bones.
The pain was incredible. I lost consciousness.
Agony followed me down into darkness, along with the Dark Lord's
screams.
END OF CHAPTER FOUR
*******
Author's Notes:
Special Thanks to Lizard of Fire, who was first to ask if Rita Skeeter's
spell-reflecting hand-mirror could reflect the Unforgivables.
(The mirror originally had a different story-purpose, but that question
put the last scene of this chapter, almost fully formed, into my brain.
Honestly, could a double-strength Cruciatus happen to a more deserving
Dark Wizard? ;-))
Enfleurage: Thank you!!
Bratkatze:: Thank you!!
Ariana Deralte: Thank you!! Yes, Filch agrees that Black would have
been wise to just take Callandra and escape with her. But Sirius
considered abandoning Filch to be an unacceptable option.
Ooh! It's neat to know that I had the right idea about why those masked
wizards wanted poor Uric!
Melodie: Thank you!!
Alchemine: Thank you!! Yes, Filch can appreciate magic in a way that
wizards who use it every day can't.
You were right about Filch's reaction to the discovery of Sirius's
identity. Once Filch considered Sirius's actions, he overcame his
mistrust.
Filch has come a long way with his inferiority complex but he has a lot
further to go before he could get up the nerve to approach Minerva as a
suitor.
Minerva does care for Filch very much, but she has not yet considered
him in that light. This may change, slowly.
Elspeth: Thank you!! Yes, the Doors only work in Hogwarts Castle, or on
the grounds, within the "No Apparating/Disapparating" spell. But Moody's
been trying to teach Filch to use every advantage he's got, and the
Doors are only one of his weapons.
Larania: Thank you!! (Evil? Moi?)
Nightengale: Thank you!!
Ezra: Thank you!! The notes are fun for me to write. Some of the stuff
probably should be in the actual stories, but it can be tricky sometimes
to fit things in using a first-person POV. The notes help me reveal
things that I couldn't get to fit anywhere else.
Rabbit: Thank you!! Hey, your Cliffhanger was EEEVIL! (I'll be checking
for your next chapter as soon as I post this!)
Yes, Lucius did destroy the scroll.
Lyansidde: Thank you!! Like you, I hope I can keep up this pace, because
this writing-thing is so much fun! But, eventually, I probably have to
start sleeping again...
UnrepentantReader: Thank you!!
Pendragon: Thank you!! Stay tuned...
Gramarye: Thank you!!
RioRaptor: Thank you!!
a Harry Potter fan-fic
by Ozma
A sequel to "The Way of the Squib"
Chapter 4: Out of the Frying Pan
Everything in this story really belongs to J.K. Rowling
When I heard the high, cold voice of He Who Must Not Be Named, I
was terrified. My first coherent thought was full of regret and anger.
Mrs. Norris's kittens... I wasn't going to live to see them born. It
wasn't fair...
The Dark Lord moved towards the battered Gryffindor Animagus and
me. The red light of the rising sun outlined his unnaturally tall, thin
body. I could not help staring at him in horrified fascination. The
blood-red slit-pupiled eyes glowing in the skull-white face, the flat
nose with slits for nostrils, the pale, long-fingered hands... he did
not look human; he was a creature of Darkness, wearing a human-like
shape.
As terrible as the sight of him was, the feel of the Dark magic
that surrounded him was worse. His presence was an assault against every
sense I possessed.
I would have been moaning with fear, but I could not make a sound.
The Gryffindor Animagus, injured though he was, moved protectively
between me and the Dark Lord.
He was too badly hurt to last long against this evil creature. The
Gryffindor's breathing was more ragged than ever. The Death Eaters had
tortured him. His left arm was wrapped around his side. He coughed
painfully, right hand over his mouth. I saw his hand come away with
blood, bright red, on his fingers. He was broken and wounded, deep
inside.
The Animagus might still have the strength to Apparate. He held
the small grey stone, really a Transfigured girl named Callandra
Moffitt, hidden in his left hand.
Callandra, a fifteen year old Squib, had been kidnapped by Death
Eaters and rescued by this wizard and myself. He could Apparate with her
to safety!
Too frightened to speak, I willed him silently to go! To take
Callandra and leave me!
The Animagus remained where he was, between the Evil One and me.
It seemed that he was determined to save both Squibs.
He took a stumbling step towards the Dark Lord, his feet rustling
through the leaves in this small clearing. The sounds muffled the soft
noise as, casually, he let the stone that was Callandra fall from his
hand. I saw the stone resting, half-hidden, among the leaves. Just a
small, grey unremarkable stone... nothing worth the Dark Lord's notice.
Even if Voldemort killed us, as it was likely he was going to do,
Callandra would be safe.
Safe, but a stone!
"Gryffindor idiot!" I thought. I was not worth the child's life.
The Animagus should have been content with saving her. He was reckless,
foolish... Severus had been right.
Poor Severus. I could not help wondering if his "carefully
calculated risks" had included the possible arrival of He Who Must Not
Be Named. I couldn't ask him because he was now trapped beneath the
ruins of Malfoy's tower with the other Death Eaters. I did not even know
if he was alive.
Voldemort's red eyes locked on the Animagus. He smiled a terrible
smile.
"Well met, Sirius Black."
******
"S-Sirius... B-Black...?" I tried to say it out loud. My mouth
moved, but no words came out.
This could not be true!
The Animagus could not be Sirius Black!
Sirius Black was a loyal follower of the Dark Lord! He'd betrayed
James and Lily Potter. He'd murdered Peter Pettigrew, along with a
street full of innocent, unsuspecting Muggles!
He was a fugitive from Azkaban!
A mad, dangerous Dark Wizard!
Everyone knew these things!
He'd been a wicked child too. Primarily responsible for the dark
streak of malice that was evident in the worst of the Marauders'
mischief. I'd known he was a bad one, ever since he was eleven years
old!
But... he'd saved Callandra.
Severus, who had to know who the Animagus was (though he'd been
wise enough not to tell me) had called Black an agent of Dumbledore's.
Snape and Black had despised each other since their first year at
Hogwarts. I had watched their mutual hatred grow deeper over time. But
now they'd been working together to save the girl.
The Headmaster himself had ordered Black to watch over Callandra.
I had seen Black at Hogwarts, playing with Potter and his friends,
accepting food from the boy's own hands! Surely, Black been there with
Dumbledore's full knowledge and approval.
And, now nearly unconscious on his feet, Sirius Black was bravely,
albeit recklessly and foolishly about to loose his life trying to
protect me from the Dark Lord.
As much as I'd always disliked the boy, as much as I'd hated the
man, it was obvious to me that Sirius Black was not a loyal follower of
the Evil One.
Hatred for He Who Must Not Be Named was evident in every line of
Black's body. He was trembling, with pain and rage, not awe. He
certainly did not fall to his knees to kiss the hem of the Dark One's
robes.
Instead, Black tried to spit at the monster. Blood stained his
mouth.
"Well met, indeed..." Black rasped.
His hoarse, pain-filled voice was barely recognizable as the same
one that had belonged to the wily child, always so pleased with his own
cleverness.
"Were you expecting to find your loyal followers waiting for their
Master...?" Black continued, harshly.
Jerking his head in the direction of the pile of rubble that was
the fallen tower, he gave a harsh, barking laugh that left more blood
flecks staining his mouth.
"Take a good look! Nothing's there. Just ruins. And bodies in the
ruins..."
The Dark Lord looked past us, through the trees to where the tower
should have been.
Shock and anger flared in the blood-red snake's eyes.
Black began laughing. An agonized laugh, that quickly became a
helpless coughing fit.
"What..." The Evil One hissed, glaring at the Animagus, "have you
DONE?"
"Given you some of your own back..." Sirius snarled, when he could
talk again. His pale eyes were snapping fire, the only things that
looked alive in his bruised and battered face.
"Go on. Search through the rubble. Maybe you'll find some of them
still living," he sneered.
The Evil One hissed like a boiling cauldron. His wand was suddenly
in his hand.
He spoke angrily, and the words sounded like nothing in any human
language. It was like the whisper of a brutally cold winter wind,
through dead, dry leaves.
The spell picked Black up like a rag doll. The Animagus landed,
hard, on the ground, beside me.
I winced. The sound of breaking bones had been sickening and
unmistakable.
Black cried out in agony.
"You idiot!!" I cried, finding my voice at last. "Why didn't you
leave me when you had the chance?"
Radiating Darkness, He Who Must Not Be Named stalked towards us.
My battle with Lucius Malfoy had left me too weak and badly hurt
to stand. Still, I dragged myself forwards, trying to get between the
monster and Sirius Black.
Black lay crumpled on his side. He was still conscious, his eyes
full of agony.
"D-didn't want you to know who I-I was..." he whispered, almost
wryly. "B-because you *never* believed me whenever I t-tried to tell you
that I hadn't done s-something wrong. Knew you'd never believe I was
innocent..."
"I never believed anything you ever told me, because you were
always guilty, before!" I snapped.
There was no time for me to say anything else. The Evil One had
reached us.
The Dark Lord ignored me, speaking to the Animagus.
"I have a use for you, Black. Both you and Dumbledore's pet Squib
shall have the honor of serving me," He Who Must Not Be Named hissed. "I
will let you live."
"But, a small lesson is still in order."
The Dark magic that surrounded the Evil One surged.
It was warning enough.
"Are you ready, Filch?" Severus had asked me, before he'd brought
me to this place.
"Do you have everything you need?"
"Yes," I'd said.
As things turned out, I had not needed Rita Skeeter's little
trinket to fight the Death Eaters. But it was the only weapon available
to me now.
"Crucio!" The Dark Lord hissed, raising his wand.
My fingers closed around a small hand mirror in my pocket.
*******
I'd thought that it was just an ordinary mirror. It had been in a
file drawer in my office for years. But, when I'd used the thing on poor
Alastor Moody, he and I had discovered differently.
"This mirror was made for casting spells. And it's got a defensive
spell on it too, for good measure. It reflects magic back, with nearly
twice the original force," Mad Eye had told me.
I'd wanted to ask Moody if he thought that the little mirror was
capable of reflecting back spells as powerful as the Unforgivable
Curses.
But I'd been too afraid of what might happen. My teacher shares
Severus Snape's tendency towards what Slytherins refer to as "Calculated
Risks." (Slytherins refer to similar behavior in Gryffindors as
"Reckless Stupidity." Both Slytherins and Gryffindors will insist that
there's a world of difference between the two. I can't see it, myself.)
Moody probably would have experimented by casting an Unforgivable
Curse at me, just to see what would happen. The results would have been
painful, for one or both of us. I did not want to suffer harm myself,
and I did not want to hurt Moody. So, I had not asked, and the mirror
was all but untested.
*******
The Dark Lord's Cruciatus Curse struck Rita Skeeter's Mirror,
instead of Sirius Black.
It reflected, striking He Who Must Not Be Named with nearly twice
its original force.
The Evil One's scream was a terrible thing to hear. A cold, high
piercing wail that seemed to go on forever.
My screams were swallowed up in his.
The Curse had not struck me or Black. But the mirror had
shattered.
The Dark Lord had put so much power into his Curse that every bone
in my right hand shattered, along with the mirror. The spell's shock
wave ran down my right arm, to my shoulder, pulverizing the bones.
The pain was incredible. I lost consciousness.
Agony followed me down into darkness, along with the Dark Lord's
screams.
END OF CHAPTER FOUR
*******
Author's Notes:
Special Thanks to Lizard of Fire, who was first to ask if Rita Skeeter's
spell-reflecting hand-mirror could reflect the Unforgivables.
(The mirror originally had a different story-purpose, but that question
put the last scene of this chapter, almost fully formed, into my brain.
Honestly, could a double-strength Cruciatus happen to a more deserving
Dark Wizard? ;-))
Enfleurage: Thank you!!
Bratkatze:: Thank you!!
Ariana Deralte: Thank you!! Yes, Filch agrees that Black would have
been wise to just take Callandra and escape with her. But Sirius
considered abandoning Filch to be an unacceptable option.
Ooh! It's neat to know that I had the right idea about why those masked
wizards wanted poor Uric!
Melodie: Thank you!!
Alchemine: Thank you!! Yes, Filch can appreciate magic in a way that
wizards who use it every day can't.
You were right about Filch's reaction to the discovery of Sirius's
identity. Once Filch considered Sirius's actions, he overcame his
mistrust.
Filch has come a long way with his inferiority complex but he has a lot
further to go before he could get up the nerve to approach Minerva as a
suitor.
Minerva does care for Filch very much, but she has not yet considered
him in that light. This may change, slowly.
Elspeth: Thank you!! Yes, the Doors only work in Hogwarts Castle, or on
the grounds, within the "No Apparating/Disapparating" spell. But Moody's
been trying to teach Filch to use every advantage he's got, and the
Doors are only one of his weapons.
Larania: Thank you!! (Evil? Moi?)
Nightengale: Thank you!!
Ezra: Thank you!! The notes are fun for me to write. Some of the stuff
probably should be in the actual stories, but it can be tricky sometimes
to fit things in using a first-person POV. The notes help me reveal
things that I couldn't get to fit anywhere else.
Rabbit: Thank you!! Hey, your Cliffhanger was EEEVIL! (I'll be checking
for your next chapter as soon as I post this!)
Yes, Lucius did destroy the scroll.
Lyansidde: Thank you!! Like you, I hope I can keep up this pace, because
this writing-thing is so much fun! But, eventually, I probably have to
start sleeping again...
UnrepentantReader: Thank you!!
Pendragon: Thank you!! Stay tuned...
Gramarye: Thank you!!
RioRaptor: Thank you!!