Here we are then. Chapter twenty five! Only ten or so more chapters until we reach the end :(
Thanks to everyone who is reading and I hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter twenty five

The fortress. Part 2

Noise was the first thing that returned to Harry. His head felt fuzzy, his ears were still ringing and there was an odd numbness in his fingers and toes.

'Harry?'

A cool hand was placed on his forehead.

'Can you hear me?'

Harry opened his eyes groggily. The sky was dark now, the stars bright through the tops of the trees. A vial of something foul smelling was suddenly thrust in front of his nose. He recoiled violently at the strange liquid and oddly, felt instantly more awake.

'What the hell is that?' Harry spluttered as he allowed Remus to pull him to his feet.

Snape was smirking beside him. He bottled the vial and tucked it back within his robes.

'My own creation,' he said.

'How're you feeling, Harry?' Bill asked as he, Charlie and Kingsley appeared beside him.

'Fine,' Harry said quickly. 'I'm fine.'

He watched as Remus pulled something from his pocket and handed it over. Harry crinkled the wrapper in his hand.

'Eat it,' Remus said firmly, as Harry went to stow it in his jeans.

'You brought chocolate on a rescue mission?' Charlie asked.

'You never know when you might need it – all of it, Harry,' he said. 'We don't want you fainting on us again.'

Cheeks flushing, Harry stuffed the remainder of the chocolate into his mouth and swallowed quickly. Satisfied, Remus turned his attention to Kingsley.

'Voldemort will be well aware of our presence by now.'

Kingsley was silent for a few moments. He shared a quick glance with Snape and then said, 'We should continue with the original plan. We still have the element of surprise. The Death Eaters won't expect us to have all the exits covered.'

'But the Death Eaters will be waiting for us,' Bill said. 'There's no way they'd leave any area unprotected.'

'No,' Kingsley agreed, 'but instead of fighting a whole army of Death Eaters, we'll just face two or three at a time. Voldemort will have them scattered throughout the building.'

The group nodded their approval. 'Sounds reasonable,' Charlie said.

'We all know who is taking which exit' Kingsely said withdrawing the map of the fortress from his robes. 'Remember, if everything goes according to plan, we meet here - ' he tapped a spot on the map about a mile away from where they were currently stood. 'We'll apparate back to Hogwarts from there. If things go astray - '

'Which is the most likely outcome,' Charlie muttered.

'Then get out as soon as you can,' Kingsley carried on, shooting a glare in the Weasleys' direction. 'Red sparks if you're in serious trouble, green when you've found Tonks.' He turned to the two red heads. 'Bill, Charlie, Tonks is your responsibility. We'll hold off the forces until you get her out – understood?'

They nodded nervously but Harry could see the gleam of determination in their eyes. He suddenly had a feeling that neither of them would be leaving the building without the young Auror. He wondered if that was the reason Kingsley had assigned the task to them.

'Harry, you are to stay with Remus, do you understand me?' Kingsely was staring at him now, his face stern. 'You do not leave his side, and you follow his instructions to the letter.'

Harry turned to Remus and nodded quickly. 'Of course,' he said, though he couldn't help feeling he was being slightly untruthful.

Snape, who had been brooding quietly for the last few minutes, suddenly made his presence known by pulling out his wand and illuminating the forest around them. Harry watched him curiously as Snape took the map from Kingsley and muttered a lengthy incantation under his breath. The map glowed for a few seconds and then the tunnels and corridors depicted in the fortress began to swivel and change direction. Bill and Charlie's mouths dropped open; they'd obviously picked up on something that Harry hadn't.

'Are you serious?' Charlie said, watching one particular corridor which was now appearing and disappearing frantically on the map.

Snape nodded. 'Of course I am serious, Mr Weasley. I hope you didn't think this was going to be a simple task,' he said, taking in the looks on the youngest party members faces. 'This is the Dark Lords Fortress. It is riddled with enchantments and traps.'

'It's like Hogwarts,' Harry said, watching the map intently. Voldemort had apparently picked up a few ideas from the castle during his time there. He looked up to find Snape and Kingsley staring at him with an odd expression.

'How so?' Bill asked.

'Well,' Harry pointed to the re-arranging corridors, 'at Hogwarts you have to wait for the staircase to take you up to the right tower. It's just the same here – look.' He held his finger over one wall on the map. 'It disappears three times and then appears again. It's a pattern.'

'Yeah, but I swear the staircases at Hogwarts had a mind of their own sometimes. They seemed completely unpredictable.'

Harry shook his head. 'Voldemort wouldn't have seen it that way. There would have been a pattern in there to him somewhere.'

After a few more odd looks from the rest of the team, Snape broke the strange silence by clearing his throat. 'Perhaps, it is time we were moving.'

'Right then,' Kingsley said. He muttered an 'incendio' and the map burst into flames. It fizzled quietly and fell to the ground with a hiss. 'See you on the other side.'

Harry and Remus watched as Snape and Kingsley, and Bill and Charlie began to disappear through the trees. Wands drawn, the light of their Lumos' slowly ebbed away into darkness, leaving the two wizards standing alone. After a moments silence, Remus gestured for Harry to follow and they started off in the opposite direction. Harry used his wand to light his way through the trees. He stumbled a few times over upturned roots and rocks buried beneath the leaves, but quickly righted himself when he saw Remus vanishing into the darkness. Harry couldn't count how much time had passed; his robes were dry now (he guessed Remus had dried then when he'd passed out) but the cold night air was still biting into his skin and making it difficult to think.

Out of nowhere, the Fortress suddenly loomed over them. Moss covered bricks tumbled to the ground, vines and weeds crawled up the side of the building, clawing their way through the broken windows and cracks in the wall. The fortress seemed smaller up close, but with a coy smile from Remus, Harry deduced magic had something to do with the buildings decrepit appearance.

'Doesn't look like much,' Harry said. 'I bet Voldemort has one hell of a defense behind those walls.'

Remus nodded as they began to make their way around the side of the building. Harry expected to see Bill and Charlie emerge the other side, but as they followed round, the building seemed to stretch and grow, reaching deeper into the forest. Harry ran forward, utterly perplexed.

'Everyone ready?' a voice called through the darkness.

'What the - ' Harry muttered, still trying to peer around the edge of the building. He shook his dizzy head and moved back beside Remus – the wall returned back to normal and the fortress shrank back to its normal size.

'On three!' the voice called. Harry spun around. It sounded as though Kingsley were stood right next to him.

'Focus, Harry,' Remus said quickly, his wand drawn and ready.

With fumbling hands, Harry pulled his from his jeans and turned to face wall. He wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to be looking at...

'Voldemort's not going to make it easy,' Remus reminded him. 'There's a chance things are going to get a bit strange in there...' he trailed off quietly. 'I have a feeling it's going to be far more difficult than Kingsley appreciated.'

'How so?' Harry asked.

Remus smiled. 'I had a rather interesting conversation with Severus - ' He cut off quickly as Kingsley's voice once again echoed around them.

'One!'

Harry and Remus both readied themselves.

'Two!'

The wall in front of them began to tremble. Bricks fell to the ground in a dusty avalanche as an opening began to peel open in front of them.

'Three!'

'STUPEFY!'

Harry hardly had time to react as Remus dragged him to the ground. He felt the stunning curse breeze past his ear and he rolled quickly back onto his feet. The wall had split into a large archway, much like the one that appeared on Diagon ally. A large, darkened corridor stretched onwards in front of them, lit only by a few flickering lanterns – it didn't appear to go anywhere.

'Stupefy!' Another stunner, though this one was badly aimed, whizzed through the air. Harry blocked it easily; the light from his shield cast a shadow of a disillusioned figure creeping along the wall. Both Harry and Remus clocked the Death Eater and fired two vicious stunning spells straight towards them. With a strangled cry, the figure slumped to the ground and gradually rippled back into existence. With a look, Remus warned Harry to stay where he was and stepped from the forest into the corridor. Harry felt his heart begin to slam against his ribs as Remus suddenly evaporated from sight. He peered back into the corridor with wide eyes, searching desperately amongst the shadows for any sign of him.

'You can step through now Harry.'

Harry stepped forward and instantly the room around him morphed with a loud groan. He turned sharply back to the opening, only to find the archway had disappeared. The wall had resealed. From outside, the corridor was lit, but from where Harry was stood now, the lamps were extinguished, leaving little light within the room. Tentatively, Harry moved forwards towards Remus, who was illuminated in the light of his Lumos. Harry cast his own and then found himself staring at a crossroads. Two more corridors either side had stretched into existence and disappeared round the corner into nothing – Harry could barely make out the outline of the wall it was so dark. He swallowed against the anxiety in his throat.

'We are never going to get out of this place,' he murmurred.

Remus smiled gently at him. 'We go straight on,' he said. He then gave Harry a little shove forwards. 'You stay in front of me and in my eyesight at all times.'

Harry pushed down the irritation he felt building. He could tally off the times Remus and Kingsley had spoken to him like he was a child that evening.

'And what if you suddenly disappear?' Harry asked. 'In horror films, it's always the people at the back who get taken by the creature.'

Remus chuckled lightly and gave Harry's shoulder a quick squeeze to get him walking. 'If I am taken by a creature,' he said lightly, 'then you keep going, understand?'

Harry nodded hesitantly, not particularly liking the idea of being left alone within Voldemort's fortress.

They walked for several minutes in silence; Harry's eyes were wide and alert as he tried to scan through the darkness in front of them. His wand hand was shaking slightly, the light from his Lumos scattering around the tunnel. Adrenaline pumped through his body, waiting and expecting a Death Eater to leap out at them any moment. He could hear Remus' footsteps and steady breathing behind him – it brought some comfort at least.

When they finally reached the end of the tunnel, the corridor swerved so sharply to the left that Harry almost walked straight into the wall. Remus tugged him back by his collar and directed him towards a series of rusty looking doors further down.

'Where are we now?' Harry asked quietly.

'I haven't the foggiest,' Remus murmurred back. 'I'm just following Severus' instructions.'

Harry hesitated, lowering the light of his wand to look at Remus. 'Snape's instructions? I thought Kingsley was in charge - '

'Kingsley is an experienced Auror, but he lacks the inner knowledge that Severus has. Trust me, we are better off following his instructions.'

Harry raised an eyebrow skeptically. 'I wouldn't be so sure - '

He was cut off by an ear splitting explosion from further up the corridor. A ball of orange erupted from nowhere and came barreling down the tunnel towards them. Remus threw up a shield with lightening reactions, his arms trembling as the fire dispersed around them and carried on through the darkness. They didn't have time to recover as, seconds later, another explosion rocked around them. Harry staggered sideways into the wall; Remus erected another shield as a second ball of fire came tumbling towards them.

'Get behind me!' he called to Harry who was still supporting himself on the crumbling wall beside him.

There was a loud cry of 'Reducto' and the wall Harry had been leaning against suddenly caved in. He yelped and fell backwards, pin wheeling his arms. His eyes saw the pile of bricks beneath him, but he collapsed onto them helplessly – his head collided with a loud thwack. Instantly, his vision smeared. His mind registered Remus now dueling fiercely with the figure that had appeared out of the shadows, but his eyes wouldn't focus. The Death Eater was still firing balls of fire aimlessly at Remus, who was deflecting them easily. Apparently, this guy only had one party trick. Out maneuvering him quickly, Remus ducked to the left and fired a vicious cutting hex towards the Death Eater. The man crumpled to the ground in an instant, blood pooling around him. Remus was at Harry's side in an instant. He muttered something under his breath and Harry's vision suddenly faded back to normal. He breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Remus, pulling himself onto his feet.

'Alright?' Remus asked him.

Harry nodded, a dull ache was now ebbing towards the back of his head. 'Yeah – best not tell Madam Pomfrey about that.'

Remus eyed him cautiously for a few moments. 'You don't feel sick, or dizzy?'

Harry shook his head. 'No – it just aches.'

'That was extremely lucky,' Remus breathed, he sounded agitated. 'If you hit your head again...'

'The accident was months ago,' Harry reminded him, brushing himself free from dust. 'I'm sure it's healed by now.'

Remus didn't look so sure. 'Even so,' he said, 'We'll have to be extra careful...' He trailed off, a curious look in his eye as for the first time he registered the rooms leading off from the corridor they were in. Wand ready, the two of them crept forward, stepping over the fallen Death Eater.

Rust had made the bolts on the doors impossible to open by hand but with a quick, 'Alohamora,' the first door on their right swung open. The smell was the first thing to hit Harry. The room was pitch black but Remus stepped in anyway. He raised his wand and almost fell backwards at the sight before him. The light cascaded over a shrunken figure, laid limply in the corner of the room. Chains bound what was left of the mans wrists and ankles to the wall. There was blood smeared across the walls and the floor. Remus stepped back out and closed the door. He turned to Harry who was still staring with shock.

'Whatever happened in there, it wasn't by magical means...' Remus tried to say, but Harry shook his head.

'I dreamt...' he began awkwardly.

Remus frowned and gestured for him to continue.

'The night you were attacked... the night I attacked you, I was dreaming,' Harry told him quietly. 'I dreamt you were inside a room, you were chained up to the wall – that wall.'

'You've seen this place before?'

Harry shook his head. 'Not the Fortress no,' he said. 'But I've seen this room...' Harry looked up at Remus with a pained expression. 'Remus, I think this room was meant for you.'

A voice suddenly echoed out of the darkness.

'Very good, Mr Potter.'

Harry felt his blood run cold. He raised his wand shakily and staggered backwards.

Death Eaters. Three of them, hoods up and faces covered, were walking towards them. Remus placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, stalling him from legging it up the corridor. There was a breathy chuckle behind them and Harry whipped around to find two others blocking their only means of escape. They were trapped.

'Expelliarmus!'

With a cry of surprise, Harry felt his wand ripped from his grasp. One of the Death Eater's opposite caught it swiftly. He ran his fingers across it for a few moments, seemingly admiring the craftsmanship before holding up in the light of his own wand. With a cruel laugh, he then snapped it in half as if it were a twig.

Immediately Harry felt his world come crashing down around him. The weight of it almost sent him to the floor.

His wand. The Death Eater had broken his wand.

He was helpless.

The Death Eater held up his hands and the broken pieces clattered to the ground. Harry turned desperately to Remus, but he didn't seem to have noticed. He was staring at the man in front with such hatred in his eyes that Harry instantly knew who he was.

'Long time no see, Lupin,' the man snarled.

That voice.

'He was one of your own kind,' Remus said, his voice level.

'I did what needed to be done,' the man said. 'I had to follow orders.'

'There are other ways. You needn't have killed that man, Fenrir.'

Greyback laughed, a harsh sound that made Harry flinch. He pulled down his hood to reveal a frighteningly scarred face. His appearance had shifted even farther toward werewolf then man; he threaded clawed fingers through his mane of stringy hair.

'But he tasted so good,' he whispered, stepping closer. His eyes were flickering to Harry. He almost had a hungry look about him. Remus quickly shifted so Harry was behind him.

'Don't even think about it,' Remus warned sharply. 'If you come any closer I will kill you where you stand.'

Fenrir laughed bitterly.

'With no wand?' he mocked. 'How do you propose to do that...'

His eyes suddenly gleamed with excitement.

'A good old fashioned dog fight,' he snarled, curling back his lip with laughter. 'How about it Lupin?'

The other Death Eaters closed in slightly. Remus looked around, his expression betraying nothing of what he was feeling.

'Kill me if you must, but Voldemort will want Harry for himself.'

'Believe me, Lupin. I will take most pleasure from this.'

Before Harry even registered what was happening, Greyback flung himself forwards with a snarl.