HP Year 5: Let the War Begin
Chapter 13
After the attack at the Quidditch match and the vision afterwards, Harry finally got a break, as nothing happened all throughout November. Harry welcomed the break from drama, and he definitely enjoyed not having to put up with Voldemort's visions. Whether the lack of visions were from his slowly-increasing ability at Occlumency or something else, he didn't know, but either way he wasn't complaining. Homework was building and classes increasing in difficulty as teachers pushed students to their limits, eager to prepare them for their O.W.L. exams and Harry was merely thankful that he had no distractions (other than training and Occlumency lessons) to slow him down with his studying. Before Harry knew it, the chilly weather was back as December arrived, and with it the last Hogsmeade trip before Christmas.
.
"Come on, mate!" Ron yelled, thumping Harry repeatedly over the head with a pillow. "Oi, Neville, come help me!"
"Neville, help him and I'll hex you," Harry warned, reaching over to grab the pillow out of Ron's hands and whacking Ron in the stomach with it. The redhead pounced on top of him, grabbing the pillow back to carry on with his attack.
"Merlin, Ron! I'm up! I'm up!" Harry cried out through his laughter, before shoving Ron off his bed so that he landed on the floor with a thump.
"About time!" Ron said exasperatedly as he picked himself up off the floor. "It's not like you to sleep in. It's Hogsmeade time!"
"Blimey, I forgot about that!" Harry exclaimed, grabbing clothes from his trunk. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" he demanded as he changed into warm clothes.
"I tried!" Ron held up his hands. "It's not my fault you're a bloody deep sleeper."
"That's rich, coming from you," Harry retorted, chucking another pillow at the redhead.
"Is Cedric still coming today?" Neville asked, interrupting the argument.
"Yeah, he's going to spend some time with Cho then they'll meet as at the Three Broomsticks," Harry told Neville as he grabbed his jacket and wand. "Ready?" he asked. The other two nodded, and they found Hermione, Ginny and Luna waiting impatiently for them in the common room.
"Don't look at us," Ron told them, motioning to himself and Neville. "Harry's the one who wouldn't wake up!"
"Well, it makes a change, it being someone other than you," Ginny grinned, linking arms with Luna and Hermione and leading the way out.
"If it was me, I'd have been hexed," Ron grumbled as he, Harry and Neville followed the girls. "But when it's Harry? No hexes. She still finds a way to insult me!"
"Well, she was right, you know," Harry reminded Ron. "How often is it that I'm the one to sleep in?"
"Still doesn't give her the right to twist it in a way that puts me in a bad light!" Ron grumbled, and Harry and Neville chuckled.
"What sort of sister would she be if she didn't take every opportunity offered to insult you?" Neville asked.
"A nice one," Ron replied without hesitating.
"And when are you ever nice to Ginny?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.
"All the time!"
"Name one nice thing you've done for her," Neville said, giving Ron a cheeky grin.
"Err…"
.
The trip to Hogsmeade took a little longer than usual, since all the ice and snow covering the ground made it a rather dangerous walk. Not a single one of them had managed to avoid falling flat on their bums, although the girls seemed to be faring better.
"How are you doing that?" Harry asked irritably after picking himself up from the ground for what felt like the hundredth time.
"We're girls," Ginny stated simply, as if that proved everything. Harry rolled his eyes at the blatantly sexist comment, sighing in relief when they finally arrived at the small village.
"We could grab some Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks while we wait on Cho and Cedric?" Neville offered when the group came to a stop, standing around awkwardly.
"Good idea, Neville," Luna smiled dreamily. "It's rather cold."
"If you had said something I could have cast a warming charm on you, you know," Hermione chided Luna as they made their way into the busy pub.
"Oh," Luna said quietly, then shrugged.
"I'll order them," Ron piped up cheerfully, leaving the rest of them to find a table.
"He still has a crush on Madam Rosmerta?" Ginny questioned, shaking her head as they finally found a table.
"He'll get over it," Luna told her, waving a hand about vaguely.
"Who'll get over what?" Ron asked, setting the Butterbeers down on the table.
"Malfoy, over a comment Ginny made yesterday," Neville told Ron, taking a grateful sip from one of the Butterbeers. "They're so warm," he said, sighing contentedly.
.
The group stayed in the Three Broomsticks, quite happy to be free from the cold, until it was time to meet Cedric and Cho at the Shrieking Shack. Hermione cast warming charms on everybody before they left, and Harry was grateful not to have to deal with the cold. Really, he wasn't sure why he hadn't thought of the charm before himself.
"Harry!" Cedric's voice floated over to the group, and Harry glanced up to see the young Auror-in-training running towards them, Cho close behind.
"I thought we were meeting at the Shrieking Shack," Harry said, confused.
"We have to go!" Cho said frantically. She looked scared and pale and out of breath – and, on closer inspection, so did Cedric.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, tensing instantly.
"They all just Apparated by the Shrieking Shack," Cedric told them quickly, walking towards the village so that they were forced to follow. "Death Eaters. We have to warn -"
Just then, a purple spell flew towards them, and Cedric lunged at Cho, knocking her to the ground so that she just narrowly avoided being hit. More spells flew overhead, one of them managing to blast one of the shops that Harry had never bothered entering.
"Too late," Harry muttered, pushing himself up from the ground. Funny, he didn't remember even dropping. "Ginny, Luna," he said urgently, turning to the two younger girls. "Go to Honeydukes. Tell the owner that there are Death Eaters, and that we need access to their basement. You know about the secret passageway."
"But -" Ginny started.
"No buts, Ginny!" Harry raised his voice before quickly bringing up a shield as an orange spell flew towards him. "You're talented, Gin, but we've still got more experience, and nobody else knows about that passageway!"
"Come on, Ginny," Luna murmured, pulling the young Weasley with her. There was no hint of dreaminess in her voice now.
"Neville, round up whoever you can, and send them to Honeydukes," Harry said, turning his pleading eyes to Neville. Please don't argue. Don't make this any harder.
"Alright, Harry," Neville agreed sombrely, before sprinting away. Dodging as another spell flew towards him, Harry fired a quick succession of hexes at the approaching Death Eaters, before throwing up as strong a shield as he could muster and digging his three-way mirror out his pocket. Despite his guardians living at Hogwarts now, he still tended to carry the mirror around, and he was immensely grateful. He tapped it with his wand, waiting impatiently for Sirius or Remus to pick up their own, keeping a wary eye on his friends and the Death Eaters. They had been slowly backing back into the village, and now they were surrounded by hysterical villagers.
"Harry?" Remus asked, looking confused in the little mirror. "What's going on?" he asked, his face tensing as he heard the screams surrounding Harry.
"Death Eaters," Harry told Remus, flicking his wand at one of the robed figures, stunning him. "Don't know how many – a lot."
"I'll alert the staff and the Order," Remus told him quickly. "Good Merlin, the students -"
"Ginny, Luna and Neville are rounding them up, sending them back through the passageway from Honeydukes," Harry quickly explained, then swore as a stinging hex hit his arm, making him drop the mirror. Cedric stunned the Death Eater that had hexed Harry, and he quickly snatched up the mirror. "Better get here quick, Moony."
"Be careful. Get to Honeydukes as fast as you can," Remus told him in an urgent voice. "Stick with your friends," he warned. "There's safety in numbers."
And with that, Remus disappeared. Tucking the mirror back into his pocket, and feeling amazed that he had managed to hold a whole conversation without anything worse than a Stinging hex catching him, Harry turned back to the battle around him.
"Help coming?" Ron shouted over to him, stunning a Death Eater that Harry had spent a few minutes duelling with.
"Got Moony with the mirror," Harry called back, not daring to look at the redhead. He had to keep his eyes on the Death Eaters. No way was he going to Honeydukes like Remus had told him to; too many of the villagers were lying unconscious – or, in some cases, dead. For a wizarding village, they didn't seem to be using much magic. Most of the villagers were running around without even their wands, hoping, it seemed, to simply outrun the Death Eaters. Many sixth and seventh year students from Hogwarts had also joined the battle, rather than fleeing like the younger students, and Harry grimaced when he found the unconscious bodies of the Weasley twins near Zonkos. At least they're not dead, he reminded himself. Looking up from the twins, Harry felt a sudden fear fill his whole body.
"Hermione, watch out!" he yelled, charging towards his bushy-haired friend and firing off spells as fast as he could. Many of them hit their targets, but there were so many, all closing in on her… one of them grabbed her, and her eyes met Harry's, full of fear, before she and the Death Eater vanished. Captured.
"Cedric!" a panicked voice called out, and Harry whipped around to see Cho running towards Cedric just as he, too, vanished. Distracted as he was by the fact that two of his friends had now been captured, Harry didn't notice the figure slinking up behind him until it was too late, and he barely had the chance to cry out before there was a familiar tug behind his navel and Hogsmeade disappeared.
.
They arrived in a cold dungeon. At least, that's what Harry assumed it was, since the stony walls were damp with moisture. The Death Eater who had captured him dragged him forwards, and a second one grabbed his wand off him as he raised it.
"You won't be needing this," the Death Eater told him in a nasty voice, tucking the into his robes. Harry snarled at him, but didn't have a chance to do much more before he was roughly pushed into a small, dark room. The door slammed shut behind him, and although he didn't hear any locks sliding into place, he knew there was no point trying to open the door; it would either be charmed shut, or there would be a dozen or so Death Eaters guarding it. There was no way he could fight that many Death Eaters, even if he had his wand on him – and if it was simply a complex locking charm, well, he didn't know much about those kinds of spells, so his wandless magic couldn't help him there. But he had to get out somehow… his friends had been captured, too. Captured, not killed, and that in itself was frightening. Did Voldemort think they knew something? Harry suddenly felt sick as another thought suddenly crossed his head; was Voldemort going to torture them? Suddenly, something vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled his mirror out in amazement. They hadn't taken it off him? Well, it's not like they'd expect me to have a magical mirror on me.
"Harry?" Sirius asked worriedly. Breathing slowly, Harry attempted to get his emotions under control before answering.
"Shouldn't you be off fighting Death Eaters?" Harry asked, not wanting to admit just yet that he had been careless enough to get captured.
"Dumbledore has me guarding the passageway," Sirius said bitterly. "Why he couldn't have someone else do it… where are you? I can hardly see your face from the darkness!"
"I…"
"Harry?" Sirius asked, concerned. "Are you hurt? Are you hiding? Are -"
"Sirius," Harry said quietly, cutting across him. "I'm in a… cell, I suppose."
"A cell," Sirius repeated slowly, his face turning white. Harry stared at the wall opposite him as Sirius disappeared, no doubt alerting people that Harry had been captured.
"They captured Hermione, and then Cedric. I let myself get bloody distracted!" Harry ranted bitterly when Sirius reappeared in the mirror, hoping that if there were Death Eaters guarding the door, they couldn't hear him. "I can't believe it, after all the training you gave me, after all the warnings to always stay focused…"
"Despite your training, Harry, you're not good enough to deal with several Death Eaters at once. You were outnumbered," Sirius said quietly. His tone held no emotion whatsoever and that, more than anything, was what scared Harry. "We'll get you back, Harry," Sirius promised, picking up on his godson's fear.
"You'll try," Harry amended, trying not to let his voice quiver.
"No," Sirius shook his head. "We will," he said forcefully. "We can get Snape to sneak you a Portkey -"
"There's more than just me here," Harry cut across him. "And he'd be found out. We'd lose a spy, and we'd quite possibly lose him. And don't say his name, either," he added, glancing at the door. "I don't think they can hear me, or I'm sure they'd have stormed in and grabbed the mirror, but you never know…"
"You're rather calm for someone stuck in the clutches of Death Eaters," Sirius said, looking concerned. It was clear to Harry that Sirius himself was trying very hard not to show his panic and fear – and also that his godfather wasn't planning on putting down the mirror anytime soon.
"It's not like they've done anything to me," Harry told him. "Well, yet. I haven't been here very long."
"You're in shock!" Sirius suddenly exclaimed, and Harry had to bite back a hysterical urge to laugh.
"Maybe, maybe not," he said after he had regained control of himself, shuffling back to lean against the damp wall. "Although, I'm leaning towards the 'maybe not'. I was starting to work myself into a panic before the mirror vibrated. Sirius…"
"We'll get you back."
"No," Harry shook his head. "It's not me I'm worried about. The Death Eaters won't kill me, they'll want me to face off with Voldemort again. He likes honour and all that crap, and he'll give me back my wand for a… fair duel," Harry said, the last two words spoken with heavy sarcasm. "If I'm lucky, I might be able to pull off another Priori Incantatem, and if not… anyway," he continued, as Sirius opened his mouth to say something, "Hermione and Cedric… and anyone else they might have captured… they won't be so lucky. Voldemort doesn't need them alive."
"For once in your life," Sirius ground out between clenched teeth. "Could you at least pretend to give a damn about your own well-being?!"
"I can't," Harry said softly. "It's easier not to be scared when I act like I don't care what'll happen to me. Don't you think I know what the Death Eaters will have planned? Just because Voldemort wants me alive, doesn't mean he wants me unhurt." Harry shivered, drawing his jacket tighter around himself as the coldness bit at his skin. Hermione's warming charm had definitely worn off now. Sirius was talking in the mirror, Harry knew, but he wasn't listening. He was perfectly aware of how he would be tortured with the Cruciatus, and other curses that inflicted pain without leaving physical marks. He was aware that the coldness down here wasn't completely natural, and that at some point he would deal with painful memories if the Dementors got too close. And he was frighteningly aware of the fact that even if he did pull off another Priori Incantatem – and the odds of him managing that were small, as Voldemort would no doubt try his best to avoid it – there was still a good chance he wouldn't make it out of here alive.
"I love you," Harry blurted out suddenly. "I don't say that nearly enough. I really do, though, no matter that I've only known you just over a year."
"Harry -"
"Tell it to Moony, too. Make sure he knows it. And Sev," Harry continued. "And make sure they know I'm sorry for all the troubles I've caused, since Merlin knows I've made a lot of stupid mistakes, and -"
"HARRY!"
Abruptly, Harry shut up, sending the door a quick, fearful glance. He relaxed a little when no angry Death Eaters came barging in.
"You are not going to die, so don't act like it!" Sirius said angrily, and Harry recoiled from the mirror.
"You don't know that," he shot back stubbornly.
"I do," Sirius said firmly. "Because I won't let you, Harry. I broke out of Azkaban for you. How many people can say that? I've done the impossible once, and rescuing you isn't even half as impossible as breaking out of Azkaban. I came for you, and I'm bloody well not going to give you up this soon!"
"Don't," Harry said thickly, trying to control his emotions. He rubbed furiously at his eyes when he felt himself tearing up. "Don't," he repeated. "I can't…"
"Can't what?" Sirius prodded wearily.
"Get my hopes up," he said simply. "Get emotional. I need to keep calm, if I want to have any chance at attempting to outsmart them."
"Harry, even under the best of circumstances, it's very hard to outsmart Voldemort."
"Sev does it," Harry said quietly. "And I meant the Death Eaters more than Voldemort, although if it comes to it… my Occlumency isn't perfect, but it's really gotten better recently. He can't read my mind outright, that gives me more of a chance than most people. And none of them know about my wandless magic talent."
"Fat chance of that helping, if they – rough – you up, first."
"It's better than nothing," Harry reminded him, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Suddenly, he heard voices approaching. "They're coming," Harry whispered, barely glancing at Sirius before tapping the mirror lightly with his finger, focusing his wandless magic into it, closing the connection, and shoving it into his pocket just before the door opened.
.
It felt like hours later before Harry was left alone again, panting heavily as he lay sprawled on the floor. The damn mirror had been vibrating almost constantly in his pocket the whole time, and at one point he'd almost been tempted to grab it and throw it across the room to shatter it. He'd quickly quashed that thought, though; even through the Cruciatus curse he'd been aware that losing the mirror was a bad idea. Groaning at the pain that moving caused, Harry reached into his pocket to pull out the mirror, balancing it against the wall beside him so that Sirius would be able to see his face even if he remained lying down. Remus was there, too, gazing at Harry with undisguised worry.
"Bloody hell, kiddo!" Sirius exclaimed. "I've been so worried – I've been trying to get you for ages – did they hurt you?"
"Mm," Harry nodded.
"Did they only just leave?" Sirius demanded.
"Yeah," Harry said thickly. He twisted his body slightly, trying to get more comfortable. "How long ago did they come?"
"Almost two hours," Remus answered him, looking very pale.
"Is… Severus…?"
"He's at a Death Eater meeting just now," Sirius answered quickly. "Hopefully he'll find out what that sick bastard wants with you."
"Is it really so hard to guess what he wants?" Harry asked, smiling wryly. "Same thing he's always wanted. My death."
"You don't know that -" Sirius started, but Harry brushed him off.
"Come on, Padfoot," Harry said impatiently. "You're smarter than that."
"There's still the possibility of him wanting something else, other than your death," Remus said to him in that gentle voice of his.
"Well, we'll find out soon enough," Harry told them, grasping his head as a sharp pain flared up in his scar.
"Harry?" his guardians asked him worriedly.
"He's excited," Harry murmured, letting his hand fall away from his scar. Why did he feel so exhausted?
"What did they do to you, Harry?" Sirius asked, looking as though he really didn't want to know.
"Dunno," Harry said, wincing as he tried to shrug. "Cruciatus, anyway. Some other spells I didn't recognise. They quizzed me."
"About?" Remus prodded, sensing Harry didn't want to talk about the torture.
"The Order. Wanted to know if I knew any of it's plans." Harry paused. "They wanted to know if I knew any spies, too. Didn't tell them, obviously. And…"
"And?" Sirius asked.
"Something about a prophecy," Harry said slowly. He closed his eyes, scrunching up his face in concentration. He'd been so busy trying not to feel the pain that he hadn't paid as much attention as he probably should have. "Something about me and Voldemort. They didn't seem to believe that I didn't know anything about it."
Although, they were right, in a way. There was the prophecy that he had seen in Severus's mind, which he strongly suspected to be the one that the Death Eaters wanted to know about, but he'd never found proof it was about him. Actually, until today, he'd pretty much managed to forget about it.
"Sorry to cut our chat short," Harry said, pulling himself from his thoughts. "But really, I'm struggling to keep awake here."
"Don't close the connection," Sirius told him. "Let us keep an eye on you…"
"No," Harry said, reaching out for the mirror. "If they come back while I'm out of it, they'll see the mirror and take it. I'm not taking chances. It's staying hidden while I can't keep an eye on it."
Without waiting for an answer, Harry closed the connection for the second time that day, shoved the mirror roughly back into his pocket, and finally sunk into blissful unawareness.
.
Far, far too soon, Harry found himself being shaken awake. He groaned, pulling away from the figure and pushing himself into a sitting position before realising he wasn't in as much pain as he was. Confused, he opened his eyes, and found himself gazing into the eyes of none other than Severus Snape.
"I've healed you as best as I can without arousing the suspicion of the Dark Lord," Severus told him in a very quiet tone, pulling him into a standing position. "Keep this in your pocket," he continued, pushing a small package into Harry's jacket pocket. "That's instructions for how to get back. He isn't killing you, he's sending you away."
"What?" Harry asked, blinking groggily, still trying to wake himself up.
"No time," Severus shook his head. "Summon your wand before it's too late, if you can. And Occlude your mind, he can't know that you're aware of his plan."
"What plan?" Harry asked slowly, shaking his head. Severus shook his head, not saying a word, and as pain started creeping into Harry's scar, he quickly brought up the strong Occlumency shield he could. He dug his nails into his hands as they walked, desperately trying to spark some awareness into him. He couldn't face Voldemort like this, half-asleep. He had to be alert! Sending him away? What had Severus meant by that? Sending him where? Why would he need instructions on how to get back? Severus knew he could Apparate… unless it was somewhere that was charmed and warded and – but if that was true, did he really expect Harry to have the talent to break free, even with instructions? It wasn't like Severus to over-estimate him like that…
"Harry!" a panicked voice called out as Severus led him into a much larger room. He was pushed roughly towards the center, where Hermione, Ron, Cho and Cedric all stood, huddled together. They were completely ignoring the Death Eaters surrounding them, and the presence of Lord Voldemort, sitting at the front of the room.
"Are you hurt?" Harry asked them quietly, allowing Hermione to cling onto his arm.
"We're alive," Cedric said darkly, and Harry nodded.
"Cover them," a high, cold voice commanded, and Harry flinched as he was suddenly drenched in a cold, foul-smelling potion.
"What are they doing?" Hermione asked, her eyes round with fear. Nobody replied, and they backed together as Voldemort started chanting in Latin. Harry could feel warmth in his body, building, and a glowing… he was glowing… they were all glowing. What was going on?
"We have to get out of here!" Cedric hissed.
"There's five of us," Harry hissed back. "And more than a hundred of them. Plus Voldemort. You think we can escape?"
"So you're just going to stand there and accept your death?"
"He isn't killing us," Harry murmured softly, and his friends all stared at him. Closing his eyes, Harry reached out with his mind, tentatively brushing against Voldemort's. The wizard was too busy focusing on the spell he was chanting to notice Harry's weak, subtle entrance, and Harry gasped. "He's sending us to an alternate reality!" he whispered furiously.
"What?" Cedric demanded.
"They don't exist," Hermione said uncertainly.
"Apparently they do," Harry murmured quietly, silencing her with a look.
Summon your wand before it's too late, a voice floated across his mind, and Harry barely held back a jump of fright. Was that his mind reminding him, or had Severus just entered his mind with Legilimency? But that would be too risky… and, besides, if Severus had just used Legilimency, it meant his Occlumency shields didn't have a hope in hell of defending him against Voldemort. But then, what about the serious lack of visions recently? Concentrate, Harry!
"Accio wands!" Harry gasped out, sighing in relief when his outstretched hand closed around five wands. The glow surrounding them was almost blinding now, and he had barely slipped the wands into his pocket before the glow disappeared and everything turned black.
And here we go, chapter 13! Finally, things are getting interesting!
I'm away on holiday tomorrow (woo!) and although that'll be fun, it does unfortunately mean five days of no writing. However, chapter 14 is already written as is half of chapter 15 so I think we'll survive. Sorry about the mean cliffhanger, but...
Anyway, I don't suppose any of you are into Wrock? (Wizard Rock). I've recently got into it (and I still feel incredibly dorky for it) and I'm looking for song suggestions. Most of my favourites at the moment are by the band 'Ministry of Magic' so, yeah. I need some from other bands, I think.
Let me know what you think of the chapter! Reviews make my day (: