Chapter 7: Interlude I
Rosalynn Hawethorne had not thought to be rescued from Hell; but, it turned out that the Order cared much more for their allies than she had thought. Perhaps due to the low interest in recruitment; few people wanted to come into direct conflict with the dark lord or his vigilantes even though they did wish for the war to end. Or perhaps it was due to the too few members as it stood; for the Order was not large. It was nowhere near the size to compare to the Dark Lord's forces, though the Ministry would back them up if called upon. And even then, their numbers would remain in the realm of severely inadequate to fight the sheer massive bulk that the Dark Lord had at his calling.
But what they did have was people who were skilled in many areas of expertise. Many with both Wizarding education and an understanding of the Muggle world to varying degrees. While the Dark Lord had many men and women that would fight and die for him who also had expertise that was vaunted for its vast diversity; they seemed to know little of fighting outside of dueling. Perhaps they hid the skills and knowledge until forced to show it, she would not know and did not dare to presume anything of them after recent experiences, but as daughter to a noble house...she was curious as to how many on the dark side had any sort of knowledge to the Muggle world.
As new as she was to them, she had been rescued and then had been taken care of by the few who knew of healing magic, and allowed to recuperate some before she was to give her report. All while she rested though…she could not get two important things out of her mind that she had witnessed while in captivity. The first one being that the dark lord himself had told her of how their children were being forced to choose a side and to fight. Sheltered and protected to a point, and then forced to choose.
Something that both sides did to these children without either acknowledgment of the actions and what it truly meant or without true understanding of the effects this would later have on their lives if they chose wrongly. The Dark Lord in all his darkness and evil; he made no excuse for his actions and willingly admitted that he knew what he did in this was wrong.
But he also did not seem remorseful, nor did he ever act as if he was full of regret that such actions had been done. He had accepted that it was necessary in order to further his own agenda and therefore; allowed its continuance despite the inherent problems that came with the issues. Rosalynn had never seen that outlook before and was shocked to find her own mind begrudgingly agreeing with it.
It was one thing to hear of Lord Voldemort's honesty to his cause no matter how bereft of morals the campaign was, but another to actually see it and witness the words herself.
At first; she had wanted to deny the disgusting feeling that this made in her. To be accused of such an action…but, she had come to realize it had been very real. And what bothered her more was that she now saw how both sides of the war were as equally guilty to the actions. The Dark Lord himself had opened her eyes to a wider scene than what was originally being displayed. She was quite aware that the children of the death eaters were raised to know that they would serve; to be prepared for that day.
The day when they too knew that they would be called upon to serve the Dark Lord and his war against the Light side. To pledge their lives to a man who could simply use them as a disposable soldier and they did this willingly. Or rather, most of them did.
The children of the Light were the opposite of this; they were not as prepared to serve. They had no one they were pledged to. On one hand; Rosalynn knew that this was good…they were allowed a choice and to grow up first, but on another…she easily remembered that Harry Potter was one such case where the lines were blurred; he had defeated the dark lord at one year old, and then was never allowed to choose if he wanted to continue to fight. He was an icon; famous, and considered a weapon against darkness. Now he was missing and the Order had no idea why.
'Well,' She thought idly, 'The newer members do not exactly know why. I have seen the guilt in the eyes of some of the older members whenever his name is mentioned.'
The second topic was more surprising to her. As much as the thought of another dark lord scared her; Lord Voldemort's reaction to the newer master was intriguing. One would assume that he would angry and wish to eliminate a threat like this to his territory, but instead; it was as if they knew the other…intimately so, and he actually…dare she think it; cared for whomever it was. He had paled considerably when the elf mentioned trouble and his rage had nearly suffocated her as he swiftly ran out.
He had not returned for days to speak and interrogate her more. His followers had taken that as a sign he had what he needed from her and she was free game. They had taken turns to torture her, mar her body with wounds, and tear her mind apart; but, they never tried to desecrate her body by rape as they had once been known to do.
When the dark lord had deigned to return to her three days later, he merely sat before her and watched her. It had unnerved her. It was as if he was trying to find something he could not understand and she had seen the underlying conflict to his gaze. She felt like he was trying to reconcile something in his mind; what she had no clue, but he stayed like this for only an hour before he stood to leave, and not a day later; the Order had come to her rescue.
Rosalynn wasn't dumb and she did not ever ignore her instincts. She had been a Ravenclaw, and while not the top of her class; she was not in any way to be discounted. She had begun to wonder if the dark lord had known of the Order coming to her rescue?
He had looked exhausted and mentally drained as he eyed her at points. He looked as if he felt guilty, even if only for but a moment. Which she knew was not possible. If the other master had been truly endangered and nearly taken away…and he had cared for this person; she supposed she could relate, but Lord Voldemort as far as she was aware, he cared for no one.
She bit her lips in hesitant thought… but what did she truly know of the man as fact? Next to nothing was what her realizations had found. Hardly anyone knew of anything remotely important about him. He had hidden his past by nearly all manner of means and his current persona was still shrouded in hazy blackness to keep anyone from learning anything of him and his agenda that they were not supposed to. The exceptions to the former thoughts having been the late Albus Dumbledore as he had watched the man as a student grow into what he had and the missing Harry Potter. Potter himself had been fighting the man for his whole life and with that kind of history; he was bound to understand the Dark Lord in ways the Order could never hope to.
Dumbledore may also have shared his wisdom to Harry about Lord Voldemort. She could not say, but if Dumbledore had and Harry had learned of something he disliked; it would explain why he vanished and did not want to be found.
If the dark lord had truly known and let her go; he had consciously allowed her to be let go; then what did that mean?
A knock to her door sounded and she allowed entry. She grimaced when Molly walked in with a cheerful smile and was followed by Alastor and Kingsley.
"Rosalynn, you have had time to heal yourself from whatever your ordeal was. I know that you will still need time to heal mentally more; it won't go away easily what they did, but we need what you know to better plan things out to avoid such re-occurrences." Alastor told her in a gruff, but soft tone
Rosalynn nodded, "You may sit, if you wish. I did not learn too much, but what I did learn could be useful."
The two Aurors sat as Molly left hesitantly. Once Rosalynn watched the door close fully, she warded it with a silencing barrier and grimaced.
"Ron, Hermione, and Ginny are dead. We will not find them. I was there for a week before the dark lord himself came to me and used Legilimency to see what I and the Order possibly wanted. He did not get our more…delicate wants from me though I know he could have easily had he wanted to, but he was preoccupied and did garner we were looking for the three and Potter."
She squirmed as Alastor made a sad expression and Kingsley did as well, "He also told me that he was not who killed them, nor was it any of his followers. He told me that he had considered them and Potter a thorn in his side for too long and wanted the chance to recruit whoever had done it. I suspect he will get the chance; he alluded to knowing them, but had yet to meet them personally."
"Whoever had killed them; they left nothing behind for anyone to find. No wands, no bodies, nothing. The dark lord had commented the man was efficient and exceptional in whatever it was he does."
Alastor and Kingsley looked grim to this as she shifted, "I lashed out at him. Asked him how he could want to hurt people like that. To hurt children this way…"
Her eyes looked haunted, "His answer confused me at first; I wanted to deny it, but now…the merit to the words is not to be discounted. Both sides are guilty to the answer."
"He said that these are children who now adults. Adults who have been raised to know of and abide by our laws, and they are adults that have been reared to fight for the war. To fight for a cause that they are being raised to side with; even if they do not wish to. We shelter and protect them to a point, and after that; we force them to side with us or not, whether or not we know what we had done." She said softly
"I did not wish to believe it, but as I sat there; I realized somewhat of how true it was. The children of Death Eaters are reared and groomed to take the place of their parents, even if they do not want to. In contrast, Harry Potter defeated Lord Voldemort once as an infant. He was then known as an icon to our world, and considered more like a weapon we could use to the dark faction than a human being with emotions."
"I did not really ever know Harry well, but I do know that he was always reserved and that he had massive anger to being kept out of the loop. He felt that he should be informed because it was his job to fight, but then was treated like a child."
"A child who had endured too much to really ever admit to having been a child; he had been forced to grow up too fast." She said softly, "He was never truly allowed to choose if he wanted to fight. We just thought that he would wish to and thus; we forced him into a role he may have or have not wanted."
Rosalynn sat there as the two watched her with displacement about them, "The dark lord merely conjured a chair and watched me with immense satisfaction that his words had impacted me. He wanted to say something else, but before he could…a house elf appeared and begged of him to return to somewhere."
Rosa eyed them, "This is where things get really intriguing. I expected him to tell the elf off and to force it to punish itself for interrupting or to curse the elf for it, but then the elf mentioned another master and that this master was in trouble."
Alastor and Kingsley raised brows to this.
She sighed, "I watched as what little color was in his face drained out. He then closed his eyes and looked like…like he was listening for something. When they re-opened; his gaze was furious and his magic surged up in an absolute fury. I nearly suffocated under it alone. He seemed to forget I was there and stormed out."
"I had wanted to try and question the elf, but it was gone before I could. Three days passed by after he left. His followers had come and hurt me with wounds and torture, but never rape. Suddenly on the fourth day after this it stopped…"
She watched as she saw conflicted emotions pass them.
"The dark lord came back and merely conjured a chair and sat there. He watched me; not saying a thing. He looked as though he was trying to find something in me that he could not place, but I saw the exhaustion in his demeanor and the sense of inner conflict as he looked to me. Wherever he had gone; he had protected someone else and his thoughts were in disarray."
"He seemed to almost look guilty and as though he was trying to reconcile the situation in his mind. The only conclusion I can make for such a scenario is that whoever had targeted this new master had intended to capture him and take him away. If the Dark Lord…cared, and I use the word lightly, for this person, then I could relate."
"After he had sat there for another hour; he left. I was not bothered by anyone and elves brought me food and water that I tested before eating. None of it had been poisoned or tampered with in any form. Not even a full day later, you found me and rescued me."
She sighed, "I began to wonder if perhaps he knew. He knew that you were coming and that since he had no more need for me that he simply allowed me to be rescued. He knew I was no match for him, so why bother? But at the same time, that doesn't fit with the ideas we have of the man known as Lord Voldemort."
"But how much does anyone know of him truly?" She asked them, "Besides Albus and Potter, no one really knows anything concrete of the man and his past except for the vague pieces of history to him that we have gleaned through other means, and those pieces might not even be accurate at all. He was still a human being before he corrupted himself. Could that corruption be fought if the right circumstances or people were in place?"
Rosa eyed them, "I don't know what to really think on all this. I am still trying to process that the dark lord has emotions of any sort. However, I feel that something has happened we are not privy to about him that could potentially change the tide of the war. Some sort-of situation that has allowed him to fight his inner darkness up to a point and has fared well; one certain situation that has occurred recently to affect his mind.
He may never become Light like we are, but I…feel in my gut that he has…changed somewhat. I saw the fear in him as he fled out of the dungeons to go to the aid of the elf's master; whoever it is."
Alastor considered all this, "Did you happen to catch the elf's name?"
Rosalynn shook her head, "No. The elf was unusually well-versed in speech etiquette and had known to refrain from using it in my company. The elf also spoke rather well, but not exactly in proper English. I noted easily that the dark lord knew the elf as a light of recognition was in his gaze as he viewed the elf and that he began to fear as soon as he had come and begged him to return."
"He however, also refused to emit a name for the elf. As I said; he closed his eyes and began to search for a disturbance of some kind in the place within his magic or something, and then left in a surge of rage that went haywire around me. Enough to have almost suffocated me. It reminded me of Harry's magic sort-of too; his magic when angry becomes tangible and able to be felt when bad enough. I don't think Harry has ever gotten angry as bad as that before, and I pray he never does. His anger would be worse to endure."
They nodded and Kingsley motioned to Alastor as the man nodded and the dark-skinned Auror left the room. He watched her to see if she responded to him alone unfavorably and smiled internally as she did nothing.
"Rosalynn, I am about to let you into the higher ranks of the Order." He told her gruffly, "What I tell you cannot leave this room. All the other members of the higher ranks know of this because Harry and I agreed to them before he vanished, but they are also not allowed to say anything of it. It was kept a secret for so long for a good reason and the Dark Lord will hunt anyone down for the information if he suspects you have it."
She eyed him a moment and then nodded.
He sighed, "Potter was never given a choice to fight for the Light since it had been preordained that he do so from the time he was born. A seer had a vision and foretold of him as the child who could vanquish Riddle."
Her eyes widened, "But prophecies, even those kinds, can be altered by the actions of the recipients, or voided, or never come to pass if ignored. Do you know the words to this prophecy; I mean its exact contents?"
Alastor eyed her seriously before he nodded.
"The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. And the dark lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the dark lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the dark lord will be born as the seventh month dies."
Rosa felt dread rise up inside her; the words while seemingly clear in their context; were much more than easily laid out.
Alastor eyed her, "Albus entrusted the words to Potter after he lost his only family member left to him. And then to me shortly before his death."
Rosalynn breathed heavily, "Alastor, I do not doubt that Albus tried his best with what he knew…but, prophecies are delicate things and as such…"
The Auror felt cold run through him.
"Speak. I will not reprimand you for merely trying to convey your thoughts."
She nodded, "I know Harry was born in July and that his parents were considered very brave people; but, do you know precisely if they actually defied Lord Voldemort personally three times?"
Alastor considered, "James was an Auror like Sirius had been before his arrest for his supposed betrayal of them. Lily had been working as an unspeakable and they were often paired together as necessary due to them being married."
"I know of the two incidents that could be leading up to the attack on the Hollow, but as for a third one…I cannot say. The attack on their home could be considered the third one as both died before the dark lord ever so much as turned his wand to Harry."
She nodded, "I want you to please keep an open mind."
He nodded again as she sat up straight, "The word you told me says that Harry has the power to vanquish the dark lord? Not kill? Not annihilate? It also says that neither of them can live as the other survives? One has to consider what survival in this context truly means?" She said
"Albus believed Harry had the power to end the dark lord as the words say if comprehended in a simple manner, but what if; and please excuse my very radical and almost outrageous thoughts that are defying all the Order has fought for, for so long; what if that backfired curse that ricocheted off of him set the precedence for another road?"
She eyed him, "The dark lord should have died that night, correct? As should have Harry if the spell had not bounced off of him? However, both he and Harry survived a curse that was never meant to be blocked at all."
Alastor felt dread once more creeping up his spine.
"I think that we have to consider what the prophecy says about both of them, and not just that Harry was supposed to have a power that could potentially end the dark lord. Neither being able to live as one of them simply survives…"
Alastor sat and watched the floor. He breathed heavily and his eye was twitching.
"Are you saying that both Potter and Riddle might have more than a cursed bond to the other?" he asked slowly, "That there is something that is drawing them together?"
Rosa eyed him warily, "I think that it is entirely possible. The Dark Lord corrupted his mind long before Harry was born. He would not have recognized the signals to indicate such a thing, and Harry had been acting oddly before his disappearance. Whenever the dark lord was mentioned; he would go quiet and seem to reserve his comments. He also reacted violently with words whenever others tried to force him to consider Ginny again."
Alastor sighed a long and drawn out breath, "Merlin…what have we done?"
Rosa looked to that suspiciously and Alastor knew he would need her help now more than ever.
"Harry never really just vanished, Rosa." He said tightly, "I pretty much forced his decision to hide away and not come back here. When Harry came into his majority early; Albus and the Order were frightened of his magic."
She arched a brow as Alastor tried to calm himself.
"To understand this fear, first you should know that during Harry's fourth year; he was forced by the Dark Lord and a few of his followers to compete in a tournament that was meant for of-age only students. There was a binding contract to it, so we had no way to safely pull him out of it without Harry losing his magic completely."
Rosa knew this; she had been a sixth year then but nodded anyhow.
"Losing his magic wasn't an option, so Harry competed and he triumphed when all the odds stacked against him. He had help sure, but it was mostly his own power and creativity that allowed the help to aid him."
"The night of the third task; Harry was port-keyed to where Lord Voldemort did a ritual to return himself to a corporeal form. He used Harry's blood as an ingredient and the forced the boy to duel him after he had watched Cedric Diggory be murdered."
Rosa's eyes widened, "Then the blood…"
She then was distracted as Alastor eyed her warily.
"Alastor, I am unsure if you know; but, the old families very rarely ever give blood for anything. Unless there is a benefit that they think is worth the price of the blood they are giving over. Blood is a useful ingredient in general terms to begin with; but, human wizard or witch blood specifically, it is very powerful and can be used for so many things that the list seems endless."
Rosa eyed him, "The ricocheted curse could have been only the start. Harry's blood in the ritual might have catalyzed something else and if Harry were to approach Lord Voldemort…what are the chances they could find common ground?"
Alastor cursed now loudly before he slumped and sighed, "Harry is the last descendant of Ignotus Peverell. His orientation became dark and he tried to comfort us all about it, but we…we all began to distance ourselves. It hurt him badly to see us do this. Albus tried to ease our thoughts, but after his death and I took over the Order; I reacted rashly due to my years as an Auror."
He eyed her, "How much do you know of the Peverell name?"
She considered, "Not much. I know they are as old as Magic is here and that the name was both feared and respected. It was said that they were immortal and had powers that modern society now would never understand."
Alastor stood, "Yes. Harry was in-fluxed with the knowledge of his Peverell heritage. Every scrap of information they ever had was infused to his being. His core was made endless and he was also cleansed of any harmful magic to him. He became immune to the corruption of dark magic no matter if he used it or not."
"He could cast hexes and curses that no one knew what was so easily that it was very scary to be in his presence when irate. He had also become gifted to all areas he once had suffered a severe lack of skill to. Potions, no problem. Runes and Arithmancy; pieces of cake even though he never studied them."
"He could travel to parallel realms and force demons to comply to his magic as if they were merely puppets on strings and he was the puppeteer. He became the Master of Death. Not even needing the Hallows; Death came to him and they interacted as if that was normal."
"We never considered what ancient healing magic he may know or other light magic. All we saw was his ever growing penchant for the darker side of magic; and it really frightened us. He had been such a soft and genuinely kind boy that no one wanted to see him change. After he lost Sirius, he had changed; but it wasn't unexpected."
"He studied harder and made sure that he was prepared. He began to think before acting and to consider all his options before just charging head-first. We saw it as him maturing and growing up, but much later on; as he began to let Death guide his study in the actual practice of the dark arts…"
"I began to fear he was going rogue." Alastor told her, "And I did something I now regret if what you are saying is true."
"I, at first, tried to have him bound to a life he could not want. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were to make Amortentia and somehow get him to drink it. They failed; and Harry struggled before we managed to detain him long enough to almost interrogate him. But, he freed himself before we really could do so and vanished from here while screaming that if they dared to show themselves to him again…he would kill them. I have no idea if the three of them found him, but if they did; we know now why there is nothing left to find."
"Harry would as easily be the world's most lethal assassin as he could be the world's most gifted healer, if desired. He has knowledge that no one else alive has."
Alastor then looked guilty as Rosa listened and did not judge him with her eyes, "But when the three had not returned to report on time as I had expected them to; I began to panic and I had several of the veteran members of the Order to try and track him down. Harry was being hunted down like a rabbit after he fled from our would-be interrogation of him."
She gasped as he winced, "I do not like to think I caused all of the reasons for his disappearance and continued hiding; but, I know that I am a part of the reason."
"If Potter sought asylum with the Dark Lord and they have… come to an agreement; it is simply a matter of time of when they strike back at us. He won't be easy to find, because as I mentioned; he can travel through parallel realms. Time and space too, if he wished and there would be no repercussions to him for it."
He eyed her, "We need to find him though. There are many questions that need answering. For now, I will let Kingsley know of what I told you and we will disband Order ops to recall everyone back and reconsider where to go from here. Molly and Arthur need to take time to heal from their loss too."
Alastor grimaced, "I sincerely pray it was not Harry who killed them. He threatened to once before if they dared to speak to him. I sent them to see him, as they knew where the house he was in currently was, but only was allowed entry if he ordained to let it. Twice before they went to convince him to return and had come back relatively unharmed."
"This time they are not at all, and I pray Harry has not killed them. It will make convincing the Order to accept him back much harder than it has to be."