Chapter 21: Foreshadowing
Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me. They are rightfully the property of Joanne Kathleen Rowling – Author of the worldwide bestselling series 'Harry Potter'. I do not make any claim of owning anything except the plot. Now to my AWESOME REVIEWERS!
Universal creature: For your constant support, I thank you from the bottom of my heart
JohnLockSher: for your encouragement, I also thank you a million times
ReturnoftheMoon: Thanks for pointing out the error! Keep reviewing!
ludwiggystardust: Thaaaaanks you!
MegaHugePotterhead2: Thank you soooo much for your encouragement!
P.S.: I really wantedto sound official so I wrote it like this (:p)
The residents of Black Manor – even the house elves – slept well. Everyone except a certain teenager tossing and turning feverishly on his bed. Harry Potter was having a dream and it certainly wasn't a good one.
Harry felt himself being dropped to the ground. He looked up through the swirling mist and made out a house in the distance. He stood up and dusted himself down, feeling extremely drowsy. He noticed that everything seemed to be shrouded in a thin fog. Everything seemed to be blurry and the world seemed to tilt every now and then. Harry made his way over to the house, stopping in shock as he realised it was the same one he had seen a few nights ago.
Taking a deep breath, Harry passed through the door and drifted up to the familiar room. Today there were three people. The decaying rotting possessed form of Voldemort, the young man Voldemort had called 'Barty' and…
"Pettigrew" Harry growled loudly, knowing full well no one would hear him. The fat balding man shakily knelt in front of the sofa, clad in dingy Azkaban robes, just as the world gave another lurch and Harry almost lost his balance. He noticed Voldemort also gave a cry of pain at the exact same time.
"Barty, where is Nagini? I want her potion, where is it!" the Dark Lord shrieked, making Harry clutch his throbbing scar. Barty ran to another room and returned moments later with goblet of dark swirling liquid, "M-my Lord, here it is. I-I apologize for the-"
"SILENCE, feed me you pathetic fool!"
Harry watched in disgust as Barty gently tipped the potion into his master's mouth. All the while Pettigrew was snivelling at the foot of the armchair. As soon as the last of the contents of the goblet had been ingested, the world seemed to lurch into crystal clear focus, and for a moment Harry was worried he would be seen.
"Very well, make sure the potion is not late from now on, am I clear Bartemius?" Voldemort hissed threateningly, "Now go, get out and give us some privacy". Barty did not hesitate to comply and sprinted out of the room. Voldemort turned to Pettigrew with some effort.
"Wormtail" he crooned, "My loyal faithful servant. How did you manage to get stuffed in Azkaban?" he asked in a fake curious voice. Peter seemed terrified at the mere prospect of speaking, "I-it w-wa-wasn't my f-f-fault my lord. The P-P-Potter scum a-and that Black, th-they are the-"
"And you let yourself be captured by those imbeciles? Three snivelling children for Slytherin's sake?" Voldemort thundered, "No servant of mine should be so weak, tell me Wormtail, do you think you are deserving of a punishment?"
Pettigrew stared at him with wide eyes, "B-b-but My L-l-l-lord –"
"Are you?"
"My Lord I-I d-don't –"
"ARE YOU!?"
"Y-Yes my lord" Pettigrew confessed. Voldemort's face twisted into a gruesome smile, "Very well then, but first, what is this I hear? The Dark Mark at the World Cup? What do you know of it?" he demanded.
"My lord I-I was the one w-w-who cast the Mark. A few of your f-f-followers decided to indulge in s-so-some Muggle t-t-torture my lord" Peter bowed his head, evidently feeling proud of the fact that he had cast the Mark.
"And what made you do that, Wormtail?" Voldemort asked, his voice dangerously soft. Pettigrew looked up, "We can feel it my lord!" he cried joyfully, swiftly rolling back his left sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark emblazoned on to his left forearm. It seemed to be pulsing, growing darker, then fading, and then darkening again, "You are growing stronger. I-i-it will not be soon before – before you rise a-a-again" he crowed.
Voldemort leaned back thoughtfully, "So you can feel it, can't you Wormtail?" he wondered aloud and Pettigrew nodded violently, "Well then, can you feel this? CRUCIO!"
Harry and Pettigrew simultaneously collapsed with shrieks of pain. After a few seconds, the world dropped back into a blurry state and the pain become almost phantom like. Harry watched as Peter kept writhing of the ground until the world faded into darkness
"He's waking up! Oh thank Merlin, Vissy, get a wet towel please"
Harry felt something cool being pressed to his burning scar and he jolted awake to the feeling of someone hand running through his hair. He cracked an eye open to see Sirius' blurry figure sitting beside him, "Sirius?" he croaked.
"Hey" Sirius whispered back, "How are you feeling?" he asked. Harry sat up and noticed Remus entering the room with an armful of potions and stopping short as he saw him awake, "I'm good, a bit tired, but good" Harry answered, "Hey Remus"
"What? Oh – hey" Remus sat down on one the chars in his room, "You had another nightmare, didn't you cub?" he asked busily setting the potions down on his bedside. Harry wriggled uncomfortably, "uh, yes" he mumbled, rubbing his sore scar.
"Does your scar hurt?" Sirius asked, his sharp eyes having noticed the action. Harry abruptly stopped his hand, "Oh? Um yes, a bit" he tumbled over his words. Sirius handed him the cool towel, "Press this to your forehead, maybe it'll help" he advised. Harry complied, letting out a sigh of relief as it soothed his burning scar.
"Where was it this time?" Sirius asked after a few moments of silence. Harry dabbed the towel for the last time and sat it down, "The same house. It's extremely run-down" Harry hesitated, "I-I saw Pettigrew" he growled.
Sirius and Remus looked taken aback and exchanged surprised looks, "We need to meet Dumbledore. He's the only one who'll understand" Remus stated. Sirius growled, but nodded. He swiftly turned into his animagus form and crawled up next to Harry, whining. Harry giggled and drew him closer, scratching his head, "When do we leave?"
Remus lifted himself up from his chair, "After breakfast would be best. Come now, Padfoot, let the boy have his food" Remus chided just as Voory entered with a tray of steaming porridge and tea, "Breakfast for young master, sirs" he announced, gently levitating the bowl to Harry's lap and tea to his bedside table, "Thanks Voory" Harry smiled.
Voory gave a deep bow and exited the room. Sirius turned back and sat next Remus, "Think you can tell us the dream?" he asked. Harry gulped down a spoon of hot, sweet porridge and nodded, hungrily digging in for more. Over the next half hour he described the dream in all the details he could remember, from the colour of the potion to Wormtail's stutters, periodically spooning porridge into his mouth.
"Which curse did Voldemort use again?" Remus asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Harry clinked his spoon against the bowl, thinking hard, "I don't remember. It started with a K or a C… and it hurt" he leaned back comfortably and felt Sirius' arm around his shoulder. Remus looked panicked.
"It hurt? Do you need a painkilling potion?" he did not wait for an answer and held a light pink potion in front of him. Harry held up his hands, "I'm fine, really. It only hurt till the dream ended. I'm perfectly fine right now"
"No matter, your scar might hurt again" Sirius reasoned and opened the vial for him. Harry relented and let the potion slide down his throat, managing not to grimace at the taste. Remus sat down at the edge of the bed, "Starts with a C or K… probably C… Hurts a lot…Oh Merlin! Was it the Cruciatus curse?" he gasped.
Harry stared at him blankly. Remus tried a new approach, "Was the incantation 'Crucio'?" he asked warily. Harry sat up straight and nodded, "Yes, that's the one I – is something wrong?" Sirius and Remus were staring at each other in horror, "You felt the Cruciatus Curse?!" Sirius hissed vehemently and turned to Remus, "That's it, Dumbledore had better have an answer to this" Harry watched as Sirius stormed out of the room and Remus sighed.
"Don't worry Harry, he isn't mad at you. He just doesn't want you to feel any pain… especially not the pain of the Cruciatus." Remus assured him, running a hand through his hair. Harry turned to Remus, an inquisitive look on his face, "When will we learn about this curse?" he asked. Remus' eyes widened in shock as he tried to answer, "Well, Harry, there are three curses – the Imperius, the Cruciatus and–and the Killing curse" Harry's breath caught in his throat but Remus continued, "Together we call them the three unforgivable curses or unforgivables – as in you get stuffed in Azkaban for casting any of them. During the First War, only the incantations were taught – very unwillingly, I might add – to all the students, fifth year and above. They were taught how to cast it when they became legal adults. Now, only aurors are taught how to cast them, and that too is optional"
"The first – the Imperius – obtains complete control of a person's mind and is very hard to resist. The second – The Cruciatus – causes, as you know, immense pain while the third – the Killing Curse – well, it's pretty self - explanatory" Harry goggled at him, "The Killing Curse. Was-was that how my parents were-were –"
"Killed? Yes. Don't worry Harry, it was a quick and painless death. They did not suffer" Remus reassured him, a sad look in his eyes, "Come now, we have to get ready. We can't let Sirius go and shout at Dumbledore alone now, can we?"
….
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T TELL US? THIS IS MY GODSON WE'RE TALKING ABOUT!"
Harry winced at Sirius' loud yell. Beside him, Remus was doing his best to calm him, but wasn't doing a very good job, as he was trying his hardest not to yell himself.
"Sirius, my boy, as I said, I do have an idea of what might be happening but I can't tell you. It is simply not the time. I guess you could – no never mind" Dumbledore reasoned, making Sirius narrow his eyes in anger. He opened his mouth to shout again, but Remus beat him to it.
"Professor, you can tell us. We know what's best for Harry" he argued. Dumbledore stared at them with a sad expression, then stood up and walked over to a shelf with speed that belied his age, "Ah, my boy, but I must also see the welfare of all. Disclosing this information might endanger that"
"Please Professor?" Harry asked in a small voice. The three turned to look at him and he stared back. Finally Dumbledore relented, "Very well, have as seat, my boys"
"Harry has, as I said, some sort of connection with Voldemort. This is, as far as I know, unprecedented and very unpredictable. This connection might mean that Harry will be able to look through Voldemort's eyes and vice versa –"
"Wait, Voldemort can read my mind?" Harry asked incredulously
"Not read it, per say, he can see where you are and what you are doing through your eyes. Currently these dreams you are having… well, they might be because Voldemort is growing stronger – I do not know. You said today's dream started off… blurry didn't you, my boy?"
Harry nodded, "Barty gave him some sort of potion and the dream became crystal clear. Voldemort said it was from Nagini"
"His snake… that means he is not powerful enough to survive without a supplement. I see… that is interesting" Dumbledore moved to another one of his shelves, not speaking for a while.
"So Nagini is Voldemort's pet snake?" Harry whispered to his guardians. They nodded silently, eyes following Dumbledore's every move, "Professor, please continue" Sirius urged.
"Of course. I believe it was blurry because, Voldemort was at his weakest. Therefore the connection could not be established fully. The pain of the curse… I'm afraid I cannot explain that" Dumbledore finished.
"How do you explain Barty though? I thought he was dead?" Sirius wondered aloud. Dumbledore gave him a patronising smile, "My boy, I believe what Harry saw was not the real Barty Crouch Junior, but a Polyjuiced or Glamoured Death Eater" he explained. Remus nodded with him, "That is probable" he mumbled.
"Well, guess we should be leaving then" Sirius mumbled, draping an arm around Harry and standing up, "Oh and Dumbledore, I'll be coming back another day… I have a few matters to settle" he finished, exiting the study. Dumbledore looked amused, like a father would be when his baby boy would get angry with him, "Well, Remus, you'd better follow Sirius before he does something, ah, crazy"
Remus nodded once, resolving to come with Sirius the next day and swiftly exited the study, knowing full well what Sirius had to say to Dumbledore.
'Oh Sirius won't be the only one you have to worry about, Professor'