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Chapter 14

Healer Riddle was going to murder Harry Potter! He was going to kill him and then barbeque his remains for dessert. First, the boy was clinging to some idiotic notion of him being a Dark Lord. No matter how patient he was with the boy, he still clung to it fervently and now to put the icing on the cake, the boy had run away from home. He quickly sent patronuses to Sev, Artie, Moody and Dumbledore. He only hoped that they found the boy before the Unspeakables did, as that only spelled trouble.

He rushed out of the house wondering what would have persuaded the boy to run away. Just when he was beginning to think that the boy was a closet Slytherin, Riddle huffed; the boy turned out to be a rash Gryffindor through and through. Maybe he ran off to see his parents. Cursing the boy for his foolishness again, Riddle apparated to Asphodel Grove.

Asphodel Grove was a beautiful house situated near dense woods. The house was surrounded by a beautiful garden which his daughter-in-law Lily tended with a lot of love. If he was not in a state of urgency, he would have stopped to admire the beauty of the garden which had blossomed since his last visit. Right now all he could think of was Harry.

"Not now, sweetie. Grandpa is busy," he told his granddaughter who had come running to give him his customary hug. He saw her face crumple and sighed. Giving her a quick kiss and a gentle pat on the head, he rushed in to find Lily sipping pumpkin juice while reading a potions journal.

"Did a boy of eighteen come here? He looks like James Potter," said Riddle hurriedly, while he scanned the house.

"Why hello to you too!" said Lily with a bright smile, "What seems to be the matter? I have not seen an eighteen year old cometh this way on this fine morning. Should I?"

"That stupid boy is missing," said Riddle, he was interrupted by his son who made a sluggish entrance.

"About time!" said Riddle exasperatedly.

"Your patronus woke me up, Dad!" said Severus with a yawn.

"Sevvy is such a sleepyhead," said Lily teasingly, to which Sev gave her a look which promised retribution later.

"Harry is missing," Riddle told Severus with a frown.

"Who is Harry?" asked Lily. She saw the look exchanged between father and son.

"Where did he go?" asked Severus ignoring Lily's question.

"I have absolutely no idea. I have been narrowing down the places he would visit. Maybe ….. The Burrow!" said Riddle distractedly.

"The Weasley House?" asked Lily with a frown, she couldn't comprehend the conversation at all. She would grill Sev for details later.

"Sev, please visit there and I will pay James Potter a visit," said Riddle as he stepped into the Floo.

"Godric's Hollow," said Riddle in a loud voice as he flooed away.

Riddle wondered how he was going to explain to James that his 'alternate son' was missing and may be likely hiding in his house. The boy lived to complicate his world.

James Potter hadn't seen the boy. Of course, he had told Potter that the boy was his grand nephew and had an uncanny resemblance to James. He didn't want to share any details with James. Gryffindors required lengthy explanations, a luxury he couldn't afford right now. Where else could the boy go? Maybe Hogwarts? Dumbledore would have informed him. 'The old coot may not have even found the boy, if he was hidden in his office,' Riddle grumbled. Dumbledore may be brilliant, but he wasn't omnipresent.

He sent Artie to search Diagon Alley, while Moody had sent a patronus to him stating that he was at a critical stage of an important mission and couldn't leave it.

Riddle sighed and leaving Potter's house on Godric's Hollow, apparated to Hogsmeade. Hogwarts was his last option. He prayed it would be the right one.

Healer Logan was searching for a way out. His eyes were bound shut with a spell and his throat was hurting because he had spent the last hour yelling for answers. Maybe, it wasn't a good idea to yell when you were kidnapped, but it was a chance Logan had to take. His kidnappers had also taken his wand, which he thought was a tad unfair. How can they deprive a wizard of a wand?

Logan wondered if he should get scared, but then decided that getting scared will only worsen it. Wasn't keeping one's cool one of the first things advocated by Gilderoy Lockhart in his new book 'Waltzing with the Wrackspurts'? 'If Gilderoy can keep his calm when faced with a crisis, then so can I!' thought Logan, blindly massaging his scratchy throat.

'What did Lockhart do when he was kidnapped by those nasty Hippogriffs? He made peace with them and learnt their language. Maybe, I can do the same,' thought Logan, 'It would be nice to learn another language.'

Logan knew that if his fellow Healers were kidnapped instead of him, they would have made a scene playing the hero. But not him! He was too sensible. The book had said that panicking would do nothing for him and he believed it, after all, the only thing that he achieved by panicking earlier was a sore throat and a missing wand. He hoped they didn't do anything bad with it. He didn't fancy a trip to Ollivanders again; the man gave him the creeps.

'They could not have kidnapped me for any financial benefits,' he reasoned. 'I am a poor wizard. I only have that flat in London and that ancestral property in the North and that small island at the south of France and that manor in …. No, it is definitely not about the money,' thought Logan with a frown. 'Why else would someone want to kidnap a junior healer? Maybe, they have kidnapped me for my intelligence. Only I can solve the case and not Lupin!'

Logan hated Remus Lupin with a vehement passion. They had both studied Mediwizadry together (he was in a senior class and Lupin in the junior). Logan was at the top of all his classes at Hogwarts and he could have chosen any profession. He chose to become a Healer because he had idolized Riddle growing up. He wanted to be Riddle and wanted Riddle to appreciate him. He wanted Riddle to respect him.

So, when he joined St. Mungos, he was understandably a nervous wreck. He was going to work under his idol and he wanted to be perfect in everything and he would have been, had it not been for Perfect Remus. He knew that Lupin had known Riddle while growing up, but did that make Lupin a better Healer than Logan? Heck no! Yet, Lupin was already a senior Healer, while Logan, the person who got perfect scores in all his Mediwizadry exams, was still a junior. So, what if Remus got perfect scores too!

Maybe Logan was better at theory than in practice. He knew his Healing books verbatim and aced all his theory exams, like a true Ravenclaw. But, he froze sometimes when it came to actually applying the techniques he learnt in real life. Logan rubbed his eyes which were magically sewn shut; he never knew life would be so hard.

Logan heard some noise coming from another room. He moved quickly in the direction of the voices, feeling very proud of himself. Maybe, he could be like Lockhart on one of his grand adventures. Finally, he felt a wall against his hands which seemed to come in the way of him and the voices. He placed his ear against the wall, hoping that he would hear what his kidnappers had to say.

There were two voices bickering outside and they seemed to be quite close to the other side of the wall. Logan strained his ear, trying to hear what they were conversing.

"This has gone on long enough!" said an angry male voice, "We are now kidnapping, torturing and I wouldn't be surprised if we start extorting next."

"We are not criminals," said an exasperated female voice, "We are only doing what is best for the Wizarding World."

"I supported you. I did whatever I could to make sure that you reached the position you are now in. To what avail? Do not give me this dragon dung of you being in control here, because it is clear that you are not. None of us are. We are being controlled and if you do not do something now, I will!" said the male voice in a tone of finality.

"You wouldn't dare! You have taken an oath of secrecy as well as an oath to do your duty with diligence and care. Do not forget I am your superior!" said the female voice shrilly.

"My superior?" said the male voice in a growl, "Just because I didn't want the post doesn't make you my superior. I know the things you have done to reach the level you are at now. You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself. I would never lower myself to those standards."

"Do not lecture me on ethics or morals, Reg. You are a hypocrite!" said the shrilly female voice.

"I am being called a hypocrite by the same person who ordered half her team to guard a Dimension Hopper and the other half to extract the information from him! Tell me, Dorcas. When are we actually going to be doing proper work?" asked the male voice snidely.

"We are fulfilling our work requirements as well as the Department's goals," said the female voice reassuringly.

"Since when has it become the Department's goal to function like a criminal underground? Because I swear by Merlin, that is whom we are starting to resemble. We are government officials, not some lunatic's chess pieces," said the angry male voice.

"Hush, Reg! Someone will hear you," said the female voice softly.

"You are afraid. Your fingers are trembling. They have scared you!" said the male voice astonished.

"Shush! You were never this bothered with what has been happening at the Department until tonight. Is it because of the identity of the Dimension Hopper?" asked the female voice.

"No. Of course not!" said the male voice hurriedly.

"You are lying," said the female voice accusingly.

"Of course not!" said the male voice more confidently. "He is from another dimension. He has no relation to me."

"You should keep that in mind," said the female voice. "It would not do for a person from my department to carry out some foolhardy rescue mission. Your loyalty lies with the department first and if you carry out any harebrained scheme, I will know," warned the female voice.

"You mean, They will know!" said the tired male voice.

"Exactly, you have taken the Unspeakables' Oath. I will not remind you of the consequences of you trying to break it," said the female voice quietly.

"I had no intention of breaking it," responded the male voice.

"Good! I hereby command you to guard the Death Chamber and protect the Veil. You are under no circumstances, to come near the man in custody!" said the female voice with authority.

"Which one? The Dimension Hopper or the Healer you kidnapped?" asked the male voice warily.

"Both!" said the female voice firmly.

"You are relegating me to guard duty. How can you? I am one of the best," said the male voice in disbelief.

"You have a conflict of interest," said the female voice with a lot of command. Her voice then assumed a softer tone, "You will be safer this way. I am doing this for your own good."

There were sounds of angry footsteps moving away and near the wall Logan heard a sorrowful female sigh. He quickly moved away from the wall as the door opened with a thud. His eyes opened magically.

"Healer Logan," said the same female voice he had heard earlier.

"You are Dorcas Meadows, the Head of the Unspeakables. YOU kidnapped me?" asked Logan in shock. She was an important government official.

"We have not kidnapped you. You are merely here for your expertise," said Dorcas with a smile which did not reach her eyes.

"My expertise?" asked Logan happily. No one at Mungos ever appreciated him.

"Indeed," said Dorcas with a smirk.

"Won't Mungos miss me?" asked Logan, someone would definitely notice that he was missing.

"We have taken certain measures to ensure that you will not be missed while your talents are employed more usefully. Do you know the identity of the dimension traveler whom St. Mungo has been hiding?" asked Dorcas.

"No. It was top secret. Only Healer Riddle knew," said Logan.

"The Dimension Traveler's name is Sirius Black," said Dorcas with a smile.

"Black? Riddle's son-in-law?" asked Logan in shock.

"Yes. I want you with us while we interrogate him about his fascinating dimension, though I shall be keeping your wand with me for the time being. Sirius Black's time at St. Mungos in your care has really helped him. He is no longer as insane as he was. I believe he is ready to give us coherent answers," said Dorcas calmly.

"It was Riddle who nursed him to health and when his condition had stabilized, Morgana was in charge of him. But she was only doing what Riddle had instructed her too. I wasn't involved!" said Logan quickly.

"If I say you were the only one to nurse him back to health, you will not refute me. Am I clear? If you do, you will be obstructing the Ministry's work. You will agree to whatever I say. Have I made myself clear?" asked Dorcas.

"Crystal!" said Logan nodding his head quickly.

"Good. Follow me! Sirius Black will provide us with the knowledge that the Wizarding World needs," said Dorcas and they left the room.

Harry was almost near the Death Chamber. He couldn't believe how easy it was for him to come so far so soon. The Ministry was busy as usual and were too engaged in their work, that no one paid him any heed (especially since he was hiding under his faithful cloak). He even entered the Department of Mysteries without any fuss. Maybe, the Unspeakables didn't expect anyone to break into their Department. The security guarding the main chamber was pathetic. The Unspeakables seemed busy guarding some Interrogation Room. He wondered what could be so important that it required all the Unspeakables to guard it.

Harry shook his head and pulled the Invisibility Cloak closer. He was glad that the Unspeakables were busy doing whatever they were doing. He could hopefully sneak past them. He entered the Death Chamber and quietly saw the Veil standing in all its glory. He walked quickly towards it.

"Well. Well. Well. Who do we have here?" asked a dark and ominous voice.

Harry pulled the cloak tighter around himself, before a spell was cast, leaving the cloak on the ground and him completely visible.

Harry drew his wand quickly and pointed it to the shadows.

A figure emerged from the shadows with his wand pointing straight at Harry's chest.

"You!" exclaimed Harry in surprise.

A quiet 'Stupefy' was all Harry heard before he was stunned and the world went Black.

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To Be Continued…