Chapter Twenty One
They were forced down steep steps leading into the bowels of the castle and into a limestone cave. The ceiling was vaulted, the walls were cut into into the rock and small niches chiseled into the walls served as the dungeon cells.
The walls were illuminated by candles impaled on vertical iron spikes situated every few feet along the corridor. Harry shuddered involuntarily. The hallway reminded him of something very unpleasant, something he could not quite place in his mind. Snape was ahead of the others; Jolie, Harry, Viktor and Gregor, and they were being roughly shoved through the narrow passageway into a large cell.
Harry heard Snape gasp and move to the partitioning iron bars next to them and reach through them. He cried out in despair and anguish. "Oh Lady, what have they done to you?" he asked.
They all gathered at the iron strips separating them and saw Lady Hermione sitting quietly on the floor resting against the bars. Harry could see her face composed and relaxed, her eyes staring at them. But in her lap she held her hand and it was bleeding. Snape reached through and lifted it gently. Harry saw no glimpse of pain in her face.
"The miserable scum!" Snape growled. "They've crushed your fingers."
"It is nothing and it will have been for naught if you tell me that we have not sent a messenger to the elves," she said quietly.
Snape wrapped her hand in a cloth from his pocket and laid it carefully back in her lap. "A messenger has gone to the elves, m'lady," he answered. "It is this man's son." He turned to Harry who had knelt by the bars. He remembered Lady Hermione from his days as a boy. She had watched from the castle windows as he and Thomas, then called Ronnie, played in the gardens and orchards within the keep.
"How could Ron have let them do this to you?" he asked angrily.
She studied his face and then seemed to recognize him. " Ron? You call him Ron. No one calls him that since he took the name of his grandfather on his deathbed. Oh!" She smiled slightly, "You are the boy that was a friend to my husband as a child. You are called Harry." She smiled at him and he felt himself blush. "I watched many a day as the weapon's master taught you sword-play. How come you into the dungeons?"
"Yes, Lady, I am Harry. But I have no allegiance to a man who can let his wife be brutalized in this manner," Harry said.
"Do not be too harsh with your words towards Thomas. He was protecting our children from Lord Malfoy who threatened to bash their brains against a rock, if I did not tell him what transpired." Hermione leaned back and closed her eyes. "If your son manages to find the elves then we will not be here long."
Snape sat down beside her and talked softly, "They are here because of me, m'lady. I was with them when the guards found me and took them as well."
"So I have been the cause of it all," she sighed deeply dropping her head. "I beg your forgiveness, for I could not save the elfin child or his mother and now I have caused you harm. I fear we will all be hung on the morrow. The Four have arrived and the meeting will take place this evening. You say that your son went to the elves this morning?" She leaned her head forward to look at him and then shook her head slowly, "There will not be enough time."
"Surely your husband will not let them hang you?!" Harry gasped, looking at the pretty woman in the dark shadows of the cell.
Hermione shook her head and her cloak, drawn around her head, fell to veil her face.
She spoke quietly and with dignity, "He is a good man, although most do not know it. He seeks to protect our children but has no strength against Lord Malfoy and Lord Slytherin." Harry could see her shudder when she spoke the name. "They will take the magic and do away with the elfin queen and child. Then there is nothing that stands in the way of taking Thomas and all of us. No one will complain. Besides, we know not what they will be able to do once they have magic." She looked up and Harry saw her face. She looked frightened. "What will we do? They want to rule the world. What is there to stop them?"
Snape looked over at Harry and dropped his eyes to the floor. Harry could tell that he already knew everything Lady Hermione was telling them.
"But will Lady Veragen follow through if she knows the danger?" Harry asked.
Hermione nodded. "Lord Snape and I have talked to her already and she says that her oath is bound by magic and cannot be broken. It is binding beyond even what we know as obligating."
"I am no lord, Harry," Snape argued. "I am best addressed as Master Snape and no more."
Harry sat back and leaned against the bars studying the men who sat across from him. Jolie had been listening as they spoke.
"We know something of this elfin magic," Jolie said. "It is like a snake with its' tail in its mouth. If it is misused, whatever you do comes back around."
"What are you saying Jolie?" Harry asked curiously. They were in almost in the dark but he could still see the man's eyes glitter.
"The elves are not without intelligence, Harry. We have kept peace with them for many years only because we respect it." Jolie pulled out his pipe and stuffed it with weed and then used his flint to start a small fire at his feet in the straw. It was a delicate and slow process. Harry watched as he used a piece of cloth ripped from his shirt to light the leaf in the bowl and draw at it until the red glow of embers lit his face. The two other Roma joined him and lit theirs from the small fire. "You do not want to try and deceive them for they have their own rules. If this woman," he pointed the stem of his pipe towards Hermione, "tells us the truth about these men, then we can trust Lady Veragan to handle the situation. We must just sit and wait." Jolie pulled at his pipe and looked at Harry steadily without a hint of fear on his face.
"What is he saying?" Hermione asked.
Harry translated.
Hermione rose up and whispered vehemently, "No, we cannot wait! We could all be dead in the morning. Did you not understand what I was telling you? Malfoy and Slytherin mean to take the magic and use it to rule the world! They will not abide by any agreement the elfin queen has made."
Snape raised his head and spoke quietly, "I know these men as I have said already. I also know the elves. Lady Veragan did not use her magic to escape or to help her son escape but there is the chance that she will use it if these men try and deceive her. The elves have a peculiar logic about such things. Since we have no way to get out of this hole, there is not much that we can do."
They sat in silence for an hour before Harry realized that the light in the room was growing brighter. He glanced through the flat iron bars that held them in and saw two figures walking down the corridor; one held a torch.
Harry knew the old man who held the light to them and peered through the small squares between the metal. It was his old tutor, Dumbledore, now almost aged beyond recognition. At his side was the woman who he had seen ride in on the horse that very morning.
Snape roused himself at the sight of her and was at Harry's side. He reached through and the woman grasped his hand to her. Harry knew then that the man in black and the fair woman were lovers.
"Are you here to release us?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore shook his head. "No, we can't do that just yet. We have no way of protecting you or finding safe haven for you, especially for you and your families. We've come to give you what news we have." The blue eyes above the white beard and ruddy cheeks sparkled in the light. "The boy, who I believe is your son, has returned. And with him he has brought an army." Dumbledore smiled. "Every elf in the kingdom stands without. I think the peasants have run in terror, for they have only heard of elves in myths and stories and never thought to actually lay eyes on them, let alone thousands of them."
"Elves?" Hermione was also on her feet and listening. "Thousands!"
"Yes, Lady-elves. Of every variety, kind, size and shape," Dumbledore laughed. "Plus, the better news is that the elves have kept Lord Malfoy's child hostage, the one that is called Jack. He happened to be following the Roma changeling."
Harry grasped the bars feeling the rough edge cut into his palms. "And my son? What of him? Is he safe?"
Dumbledore nodded gravely this time. "Yes. He is safe for the moment. The Malfoy's don't think your wife and son are going far without you. They have Lady Veragen's child, the elfin boy Volo, and the Elves have Jack. The domestic elves and wood glen elves have joined together and are at the gates even as we speak. The Lady Veragan has asked for a meeting now with Lord Slytherin, and Lord Thomas."
"You must come away with me now Severus," Lady Ravenclaw said. "Salazar and Malfoy aren't interested in the agreement and will find a way to break it. They won't have a care for you if you leave now." She had her face close to the bars and he was leaning in, his head down to look into her eyes. "I can help you slip away."
"They are fools," Snape said evenly. "They don't know what they are doing. I don't doubt they will try to deceive Lady Veragan even with ten thousand elves at their gates, for they are arrogant as well as treacherous." He dropped her hand and stood back. "And what of Slytherin, Rowena? If he gets this terrible power then no one will be safe in the world. Can you stop him?" He asked her and then turned to the older man. "Can you Gryffindor?"
"Turn us lose," Harry said grasping the metal bars again.
"We cannot let you go, dear boy," Dumbledore said. "There is nothing that protects us from the gallows, let alone you, although Slytherin and Malfoy know it would be unwise to harm us at the moment. But they hope to rid themselves of Lady Helga, Rowena and myself before Lady Veragan can pass on her magic to us. You see we stand in Slytherin's way. However, I think they will think long on this before acting. It is not an easy thing to murder three people who are so well known and get away with it. In the meantime, we have advised the Lady Veragan and we hope that she heeds our advice."
"Why doesn't she use her magic to escape? To free her son?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore eased himself down on a three legged stool near the bars and sighed. "I have once again become a student to the teacher. These many months she has taught Lady Ravenclaw and myself and the other two what we must do when she gives us this power. We learn more every day. One thing we know is that she cannot exercise this power if she is confined inside four walls. That is why the elves fear enslavement or imprisonment, because they become helpless. I think that she hopes to make the exchange outside the castle walls and then she will regain her full strength at that time. That presents a dilemma in many ways for Malfoy. He once feared she would escape and now knows it for sure. With all of her people at his gates he cannot hope to keep her confined here any longer. And he cannot harm her. His hopes lie in Slytherin. I know Lord Slytherin and know he cares nothing for the Malfoys and their ambitions. There is much intrigue that is being played out. Lady Veragan assures me that when the time comes, we three can keep Lord Slytherin in check. We shall see." He looked grumpy, pursing his lips and shaking his head.
"Godric you make it sound all so simple," Lady Ravenclaw said.
"My dear Rowena, call me Dumbledore. That is how these people know me." He snuffed and then turned back to them. "You know that we have no control over events right now." Dumbledore spoke with some disdain. "We are mere puppets. We cannot turn away the magic Lady Veragan will give us. If we do then Lord Slytherin will most assuredly use it to dominate everyone. Once we have it we are bound to our agreement. Then we can control him."
Harry wanted to ask what the agreement was about in detail but couldn't. His friend nudged him and they turned. "Someone comes," Gregor said in Romani. Harry hushed them.
The guards were not happy about finding the Dumbledore and Rowena standing outside the cells.
"Where are you taking them?" Lady Rowena asked.
"They go to the gallows all of you. Join us if you will and watch them swing," one said.
They opened the barred doors and shoved all of them into the corridor, their hands shackled together.
"Who ordered this?" Rowena shouted as they were led back up the stairs. She and Dumbledore followed behind Lady Hermione. "Stop this!" The guards ignored her pleas.
They were led through the small rooms out into the dark of the courtyard. A crowd was gathered there along with a raised platform with six nooses tied to a rough-hewn beam. Harry was pushed onto the platform and a noose was dropped over his head. He stood staring out into the yard looking at the people illuminated by the torches. He saw Yanel and Nadya and fixed his eyes on them.
Lady Veragan stood with her son Volo at her side. Harry knew some of the others. He'd already seen the Malfoys standing beside the chair that Thomas sat in. The Rom people stood back and away from everyone and stared with sad eyes at the men and the one woman on the platform. They had seen this before and knew there was little they could do.
Lady Veragan addressed a man that stood near the Malfoys. He wore a green velvet robe trimmed in brown animal fur. Chains of gold were gathered at his throat and lay heavy on his chest. He was a man in his thirties, with a closely trimmed black beard that outlined a Roman face. He was regal in appearance, like a Roman Caesar. It was the eyes that pierced the dark with a such a fearsome sparkle that drew Harry's gaze.
"Lord Slytherin, set Lady Hermione and the men with her free. Set our son free." Lady Veragan said. "We warn thee that terrible things will happen if thou does refuse."
"What things Lady Veragan? I already know you cannot break your agreement, whether I let them swing by their necks or not," he spoke haughtily to her.
"Let them go or thee shall regret it," she answered.
"Regret what, Lady? These are empty threats. I don't care if you let the Malfoy boy die. He is of no concern to me," Slytherin said. At this Lucius Malfoy spun around to face him.
"But Salazar!" he gurgled. The man in green glared and Harry could almost feel the heat of the glare from where he stood.
Slytherin stood immobile staring at Lucius and then looking back at Lady Veragan. "Give me what I want and I will set them free," he said.
"What does thee want?" the lady asked.
"You know what I want," the man almost shouted. Calming himself, he wiped at his hands with a lace-trimmed handkerchief he produced from his pocket. "Build me a castle and set it above all the rest. Make it beautiful, fill it with light." His thin pale hands fluttered in the night holding the handkerchief like a fan. "Keep your people to the forest out of sight. Give me long life so that I may rule over generations. What else? Oh yes, and give Lord Malfoy magic so that he may command under me."
"The agreement cannot be changed or broken. It is not within our power," Lady Veragan said harshly.
"Then I will kill you and your son and the others," Slytherin said striding towards her as if he meant to knock her to the ground.
"If thee kills us or our son, if thee kills these that are before thee, then the child of the pale one will also die," she said evenly and stood straight and tall and unyielding before him.
"Kill him then," Slytherin said grimly peering down at her. "I care not. You still cannot go back on your word. An agreement has already been made. I will have magic whether they live or die."
"If thee will have a war, it will be a war such as thee has never seen," she seethed. "The mountain trolls and giants of the forest will come to thy gates. The dragon will fly from its' lair and all manner of creature, even those thee has no knowledge of, will come down to plague thy lands. Thy green fields will burn and thy bellies go empty. Thy creeks will run dry and thy roof will leak if thee seeks to do us harm. For we cannot break the agreement! Thee does look down on us when it is we who should look down on thee. For thy people are barbarians in a land that is a garden, all is hidden from your eyes because of your stupidity. We suffer your presence as we have suffered other foul creatures. But we will not suffer it much longer!"
Slytherin glared down at her, "And I will bring down a storm upon your head and upon every creatures head of the forest, the likes of which you will not believe. And I will start with this one," he reached over to grab the elfin boy and held him in the air. Harry held his breath waiting for the tall man towering over the elfin queen to snap the neck of the beautiful elf boy. "I will kill this child if you do not do what I say!"
She stared at him and then at her son and slowly nodded, "Thee must swear an oath, an Unbreakable Vow, that thee will not harm anyone if we do as thee wishes. That thee will set us free."
"Don't do it Salazar!" Malfoy shouted. "She's lying to you. If she could do it she would have escaped this place years ago. Don't let her near her people." Malfoy dared to rush up to the taller man and to shout at him.
"We will give thee all that thee asks for," she said, "if thee speaks the oath."
Slytherin grinned widely and dropped the boy. "I swear it."
"Be careful of what thee asks, for it can be a means to thy own undoing if thee breaks thy oath to us," Lady Veragan said. She walked towards the gate as they were untying the prisoners on the platform.
"You cannot let her go!" Lucius shouted.
"Shut up!" Slytherin said turning on him. "You don't have the faintest idea what is happening. She can't perform magic inside the castle walls and must be with her people to make it all happen. Once given, she cannot break her oath. Have I not been under her tutelage these many weeks to learn of this?" He was hovering over the shorter man. "Besides I have this." He held onto the elf boy who seemed terribly calm as he watched his mother walk away from him.
Dumbledore and Rowena Ravenclaw stood with the Romani group as they joined together to watch the elfin queen leave the courtyard.
"What is she doing?" Harry asked Dumbledore. "If she does what he wants he'll rule the elves as well as everyone else. He knows that they lose their magic when they are imprisoned. That's the first thing he'll do."
Slytherin turned and saw the group. He waved to the guards. "Throw them back into the dungeons." He walked slowly towards them grinning. "I won't kill you tonight, but I will have the pleasure of watching you swing, I promise you." He pointed at Dumbledore and Rowena Ravenclaw. "Put these two in with them. Hunt down the widow Hufflepuff and make sure she is locked in her room." He left them with Lucius Malfoy and his ever-quiet son, Draco, following.
They were once again led down into the same chambers they had recently vacated, now joined by Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor.
Harry was pacing the small chamber and speaking angrily, "A lot of good that did us. He's still got the child and now she's going to give him magic. He'll be the most powerful and terrible man anyone has ever seen!" He turned on Dumbledore who was sitting beside Jolie. "Well? What has been accomplished?" he asked his old master.
Jolie stared up and was the one to answer. "We are still alive, Harry. Now, calm yourself and think about this. When you are in the forest and you are tracking an animal, you are the predator and what you hunt is the prey. The tracker, if he is good and smart, he will know what the prey will do and can find it almost right away. Why is that?"
Jolie had taught him the skills necessary to survive in the forest and to live on his own. He knew that Jolie was very wise and would rarely ever speak unless he had something of importance to say. Harry stood and thought about it, trying to remember all of the tricks he'd been taught. He finally answered. "The hunter can find the prey because he puts himself in its' place. He knows what it will do because he thinks like the animal he pursues."
Jolie nodded. "I have seen many things with my own eyes. Once I saw an elf make the hiss of a snake to draw it to him. He lay upon the ground and waited. I watched and sure enough that snake crawled right up and stuck out its' tongue and touched the face of the elf without biting. I think they talked to each other. And then like that," Jolie clicked his fingers together, "the snake was dead. The elf had cut off its' head."
"What are you telling me?" Harry asked confused.
"I think Lady Veragen was making like a snake," Jolie answered. He closed his eyes, slipped his hat over his face and folded his arms over his chest. A minute later they could hear snoring from underneath it.
Harry turned to Dumbledore, "I was your student once if you remember. Tell me what you think."
"I remember you son. You are called Harry, son of James. Ah, I knew your father well," Dumbledore said and smiled. "Sit and rest." Harry sat down facing him. The others scattered and sat in the straw. Snape sat by the wall of the cell next to them and talked quietly with Lady Rowena.
Dumbledore closed his eyes and spoke, "There was a time, I've been told, in the earliest days, when everyone had magic. And I believe it." He smiled again and drew his feet out on the floor resting his back against the cold stone wall. "It is said that people could become animals and animals could become people and they all spoke the same language. Everything was in harmony and there was no need to begrudge anyone."
He opened his eyes and stared at the opposite wall as if seeing a scene unfold before his eyes. "It was a time when words were magical. A word spoken by chance might have strange consequences. It would suddenly come alive and what people wanted to happen, could happen. Soon, they learned to speak those words on purpose to bring about what they desired."
He shook his head slowly and said, "In these days, a peasant will believe that there is witchcraft afoot if a hen lays too small an egg. I don't think that the world is quite ready for it, but there are those who desire it. Some believe that it should be given to men of knowledge and class and so this agreement has come about. And such a poor choice of words it is. For it is hardly an agreement when one side is forced to make it. However, it has been offered to me and Lady Rowena and Lady Helga along with Lord Slytherin."
Harry listened and knew that several others in the room also listened. "What do you mean to do with it?"
Dumbledore smiled, "We mean to teach it to others. To those who have some ability to learn and use it. We will build a school and teach it. Hopefully, we will be wise enough to use it to better people's lives. Perhaps, we can also recover something that was lost, some of that harmony between mankind and other creatures."
"What did Lady Veragan just do?" Harry asked. "It looks to me as if she has agreed to give it to Lord Slytherin only."
"Your friend here," Dumbledore opened his eyes to glance at the sleeping Jolie, "He understands what an incantation is. He has used his own words to describe it, but it is simply nothing more than speaking a special word that will make something happen. What Lady Veragan just did was an incantation. By having Slytherin swear an oath, she made him perform an incantation. He is not aware of it yet, but he will be soon. But what you need to know is that such an oath is now unbreakable."
"What did he swear to?" Harry asked.
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Yanel lay beneath the wagon on the only blanket he had. It barely softened the hard cold stones that were beneath it. He had watched as they'd put a rope around his father's throat and that of the elders of the tribe, the ones he called 'uncle'. He'd seen the elf queen and the tall dark man shouting at one another and then watched as Lady Veragan left the castle. He knew that part of the problem was solved. Once away from the castle and back with her people they would try to save the elf boy. What he didn't know was who would be saving his father and his uncles.
He'd pleaded with his mother to talk to him as they walked back to their wagon. But she had been distraught and was now talking to some of the other women. He stood watching and listening, growing ever more fearful.
Once the castle yard was quiet and his people bedded down for the night, he crawled away from his bed and into the dark of the night. It was not hard to find the room where Lord Slytherin was meeting with the Malfoy's. He crawled along the filthy floor on hands and knees until he could hear them. Because of his acute senses he was a long ways from the room lit by the blazing fire and the tiers of burning candles.
"What do you plan to do?!" Lucius Malfoy shouted. "You promised me!"
A calmer deeper voice answered. "I will keep my promise to you, Lucius. Did I not tell the elf that you must be given magic too?"
"I don't trust her. I don't trust any elf!" Yanel could hear the man moving frantically about the room, throwing chairs aside and storming about.
"That's why I have hired the assassin. I leave nothing to chance. Once we have magic, we will send Gryffindor and Hufflepuff and Lady Ravenclaw on their way. Once clear of the castle, he will dispose of them and we can blame the elves for their deaths and having gone back on their word." Yanel could hear the legs of a chair scrape against the cold stone floor. "No one will be the wiser."
"You have hired an assassin?" Malfoy's voice was filled with surprise. There was a moment of silence and then he answered the question himself. "Severus Snape!"
Yanel heard Slytherin chuckle, a grating, deep ugly sound. "He has worked for me for many years and only pretends in his allegiances to Gryffindor. That old man!" Slytherin growled, "I should be happy to see him swing along with the others. But alas, we shall wave Godric a friendly goodbye at the gates and be done with his interferences."
"So you mean to kill the rest?" Lucius asked. "The Gypsies? All of them?"
"No. It is not necessary. They will not rise up against us if we kill the older men. Dump their bodies outside with elf arrows in them and no one will question it."
"Do you not fear the elves?" Lucius asked.
"They have their queen and soon they will have the half-breed child." The man's laughter echoed down the dark hallway. "It was fortunate that your son could not control his lusts, for we have a bargaining chip to play with the elf child. And you forget Lucius, we will have magic. Just think of what we can do!" Yanel could hear the excitement and greed in the voice.
"But part of the agreement was that you could not use this magic against the elves," Lucius said. "Do you mean to use it to harm Lady Veragan and her child?"
"Agreement; I am tired of hearing about it," the deep voice said. "What are the consequences if I breach it? None. There are none, I tell you! We have a new accord, a new agreement. Did you not listen with your ears. She has agreed and I have given my word."
"An oath you mean to break immediately," Lucius challenged.
"I know her limitations. Once I receive magic she cannot take it from me. Now stop worrying," the voice was getting closer as the man walked towards the open door. "Send for Severus so that I may instruct him."
"Do you intend to take him into your confidence?" Lucius asked.
"Of course not, you dull-witted imbecile," Slytherin hissed. "He must remain ignorant of the plan as a whole. I do not want him to give himself away to his fellow prisoners. He understands what must be done. After we speak, one of the guards will bruise him enough so that he can be returned to the cells and they will not be wiser. Perhaps they will be treated and the women will even give him solace."
Yanel backed away from the door and rolled under a table as several figures passed him. He followed them like a cat on padded paws, slinking along behind in the dark and following through the silent corridors to the dungeons.