AN: Sorry about the late update but my Baby was difficult last night and so I never got a chance to post it, anyway, I hope you enjoy. :)
Chapter Twenty-Five
The dogs of war won't negotiate
The dogs of war don't capitulate,
They will take and you will give,
And you must die so that they may live
You can knock at any door,
But wherever you go, you know they've been there before
Well winners can lose and things can get strained
But whatever you change, you know the dogs remain. – 'Dog's of War' Pink Floyd
It took James a moment to realise the whole stadium had fallen quiet, slowly he opened his eyes and looked up to find that dawn was on the horizon, the sky had become a little lighter and the moon had set. Slowly he untangled himself from the warm body at his side, he looked down at Remus who lay fast asleep with his head pillowed by one arm. James assumed he must have lost consciousness again, he lifted a hand to his aching head and winced as he fingered a large bump. With his muscles protesting every movement angrily he climbed unsteadily to his feet and looked around, people lay in higgeldy piggeldy heaps, they were all sleeping quietly. He stumbled forward and saw that some areas were spattered with blood, mutilated corpses lay scattered around the sandy floor and he swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. Finally he returned to his friend and put a hand on his bare shoulder, he shook him gently and heard him utter a pained groan. "Remus, Remus wake up."
"Nng…J-Jamie?" Remus' eyes fluttered open and revealed eyes the colour of melted bronze, he licked his dry lips and sighed as he tried to sit up. James caught him before he could fall back again and held him upright until he had regained his strength. "I…I didn't…?" He asked quietly, his eyes conveying his fear.
"No. I don't think you hurt anyone. You were stood guard over me while I was unconscious and protected me from the others." James returned Remus' weak smile.
"Thank Merlin." He breathed and blinked slowly, a tiny frown creased his brow as he thought of something. "Where are the others?"
James looked away and sighed. "I don't know. I jumped into the pit when Voldemort had me cornered, I haven't seen either Sirius or Harry since I was confronted by Him."
Remus finally climbed to his feet, he was shaking like a leaf but had a determined frown marring his features. "Then let's go find them." He said huskily.
"Hang on just one moment…" James lifted his wand and pointed it at the heavy collar around Remus' throat, it opened and clattered to the floor.
"That's much better." Remus said, rubbing his throat absently.
"Let's go and keep close as I don't know if there are anymore Death Eaters around."
They picked their way slowly through the sleeping people, occasionally one of them stirred but James knew from experience that sometimes they wouldn't wake up until well after dawn had fully come to the sky. They entered the tunnel that lead back to where the Werewolves had been kept and slowly made their way towards the doors at the far end of the tunnel, Remus halted abruptly and frowned. He sniffed the air and got a powerful scent of blood. James raised an eyebrow curiously and Remus pointed down the hall. "I can smell blood, a lot of it." He whispered and James nodded, he held his wand ready and took the lead in the direction Remus was pointing.
As they neared the place the smell was coming from they heard a soft groan, James ran forward and paused beside a black robed figure. Gently he rolled him over and was confronted by Sirius' white face. "Shit! Sirius! Sirius! Are you alright?"
Sirius' eyes flickered open and took a long time to focus on the face hovering above him. "J-Jamie?" He croaked softly and grinned a little drunkenly. "Hey…" his eyes fluttered closed again before he forced them back open, he grabbed the front of James' robes tightly in both fists and pulled him down so their faces were inches apart. "H-He's…he's got…Harry…" He whispered desperately, his eyes vague and distant. "Took him…rescued the rat…left me here…t-to…" He uttered another choked groan before letting his hands fall back to his sides. "…die…" He finished and took a shallow, stuttering breath.
"Sirius, what happened? Come on, speak to me!" James shook his friend in desperation, his eyes wide and filled with fear. Remus crouched down at his side and pressed two fingers to the side of Sirius' neck, he frowned to himself before moving his hand away.
"His pulse is weak but he's alive." He muttered and James drew Sirius close to him. "We need to get him back so we can see what's wrong with him."
Suddenly Sirius' eyes opened again and he stared at James intently, his face was a picture of guilt and fear. "Save…save Harry…please…Jamie, I was…I was too distracted…all my fault…c-couldn't save him…I'm so sorry…H-he hit me…with…with something…It hurts…" He winced and put a shaking hand to his side where, for the first time, James saw a dark, wet patch in the cloth of his robes. "Greyback…was…was with them…a-and Bella…I didn't…stand a chance…I…ow…" He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and continued to breathe shallowly. "Peter…got away…h-he escaped…again…I'm sorry…Bran, I'm…I'm so sorry…"
"Hush, Siri, it's alright. We'll get you fixed up no problem." James said softly, his eyes full of worry.
"James." Remus' sharp voice brought James back to his surroundings, he looked up and saw his friend staring down the corridor, he watched as a slim, female figure moved quietly towards them.
"I'm not here to hurt you!" She said and raised her hands so that they could see she was unarmed, James lowered his wand and watched Remus stand up.
"How are you?" He asked as he walked over to Aurora.
"As well as you are, I'm sure." Her smile was bright and full of happiness. "You helped free us, thank you."
"I didn't do anything, it was James, Sirius and Harry." Remus replied. "What are you doing here?"
Aurora looked down and lifted up her hand, in it was a tiny golden cup, Remus automatically recoiled at the sight of it as all his lingering animal instincts went haywire. He snarled at the cup as the evil it contained seeped forth. "I know, it feels awful." The woman said in disgust, she pinched it between two fingers and held it away from her body as if it would bite her. "I remember a little after my transformation last night and I saw a boy pick it up after he had fallen into the pit, I was going to attack him but then he was knocked unconscious by the Dark Lord and he was taken away. I woke this morning and remembered seeing him drop it, I think it's important…I hoped to find you still around."
Remus' eyes brightened and he smiled. "Thank you, it is indeed essential to the eventual destruction of Voldemort…We'll take it on with us." He reluctantly took the cup and Aurora looked glad to be rid of it.
"Anyway, I have to go now, I have to find my children. Thank you for your help, I'll never forget you…any of you." Her eyes swept James who still held Sirius in his arms, she gasped and knelt at his side. "What happened?" she muttered and pulled Sirius' torn and bloody robes away from his side to reveal a deep wound that still bled sluggishly, Remus uttered a strangled groan and James' eyes widened in horror. "Oh my!" Aurora exclaimed and looked up at James and Remus with pity filled eyes. "I'm so sorry, I don't know how this could have happened. I thought we were all in the stadium, I tried to make sure I led everyone that way…I must have missed someone…Oh Merlin…"
Remus stared at the ring of teeth marks that had punctured Sirius' flesh, he frowned and reached out to touch them gently. "This isn't a bite from a fully transformed Werewolf." He said quietly. "It must have happened just as the sun was rising…I…I don't know how this'll effect him."
"He's bled a lot we need to get him to the safe house." James said and lifted Sirius into his arms, he stumbled a little and Remus took hold of Sirius on his other side. They turned back to the female Werewolf and said their farewells before dissapperating.
XXX
Harry's eyes slowly opened to reveal an ornate room, he was led on a soft, warm bed but he could feel the weight of heavy manacles enclosing his wrists. He slowly sat up and stared around himself, the room was decorated in rich fabrics, ostentatious wall paper and old fashioned heavy wooden furniture. It was the kind of room Harry would have expected Henry VIII to have slept in. He blinked and lifted a hand to push hair from his eyes, it had grown quite long in the time he had been away from his own Dimension and it had begun to irritate him, he had no idea how Sirius coped with his long hair. There was a single door opposite the bed and Harry gazed longingly at it before turning his mind away, it wouldn't do to torture himself with imagined plans of escape. He was surprised that he had been placed in such a room, he had been expecting a dungeon or worse but here he was, held prisoner and surrounded by rich green velvet and silk. He knew his wand had been taken but he checked his pockets any way in the vain hope it had been forgotten, he sighed softly to himself as he found his pockets completely empty. Finally he sat back against the large pile of soft, well stuffed cushions and gave himself in for a long wait.
Harry had no idea how long he had waited but at some point he must have fallen asleep because he found himself woken by soft voices and the click of a lock, he sat up straight and rubbed sleep from his eyes quickly. The door opened to reveal several people, Bellatrix Lestrange walked in with her head held high and stared at him with open curiosity. Beside her stood her silent husband and beside him was a familiar man wearing ragged robes that seemed to be far too small for him, he had grey hair and sharp, glittering eyes, his grin revealed a set of sharp, yellow stained teeth and his nails were long and filthy. The last man was instantly recognisable. Voldemort smiled as he entered behind his cronies, he moved gracefully towards Harry and sat down beside him, with movements as fast as a striking snake he grabbed Harry's chin and held him still so he could inspect him with narrowed eyes.
"Amazing. Truly amazing." He said softly to himself and his smile widened, crimson eyes glowing in excitement. "You are your father in your looks but your eyes, they are most definitely your mothers…" He paused and cocked his head to one side. "I made the grave mistake of assuming that if I killed you before you were old enough I could erase you as a threat, unfortunately the old man Dumbledore had back up plans that not even my most talented spies were aware of. I have allowed you to live for now, to not only act as bait for the last of the Order but so that I could find out just what magic brought you here and of course, what kind of world you live in."
Harry jerked away from Voldemort and glared at him angrily. "You won't get any information out of me, Riddle." He hissed and watched with hidden amusement as Voldemort flinched.
"Do not use that name in my presence, boy!" He replied, spitting the words as if they tasted foul.
"You didn't like it in my dimension either." Harry replied and looked directly into Voldemort's eyes. "In my time you're dead." He said and watched for Voldemort's reaction, he lifted his upper lip in a sneer.
"Then my counterpart was obviously weak." He said quietly. "I assume that you completed the prophecy then? You managed to do what you were destined to do?"
"Of course I did." Harry said and straightened his shoulders. "I would never have allowed you to get away with what you did to me and so many others."
"I see…" Voldemort mused.
Harry realised that he wasn't as afraid as he thought he would be, he supposed that because so far he was being treated relatively decently he was probably falling into a false sense of security but he couldn't help taunting his captor. "I was the one who destroyed you, I discovered your secret and finally managed to wipe you out and I can do it again."
"Of course." Voldemort said with a patronising smile. "But you see there's one essential part of this poor plan that you're missing…" He leaned over and took up the silver chain that bound Harry's wrists together and to the posts of the bed, he was yanked roughly forward so that his face was inches from Voldemort's own. "I have you completely under my power, boy. Now you are the one who will die, I will make certain that your father is here to witness your final moments and finally I will be rid of you all once and for all. Do not mistake me for the fool that I was in your dimension, I have survived this long and destroyed all my enemies one by one, you will be no exception." He lifted his free hand and pushed the hair away from Harry's forehead, gently he ran his finger along the scar that his counterpart had left behind. "Remember that I was not the one who caused this wound, I did not murder your parents and leave you orphaned. Whatever magic that gave you powers that the other me did not have are irrelevant in this world. This is my world, boy, and I will rule it with an iron fist. I do not understand how you came to be here but I know Dumbledore had something to do with it but I suspect that he has made a grave miscalculation that will cost you your life and the lives of your friends." He stood up, letting Harry fall back into the bed. "Your friends will die and so will you. Treasure your last moments, Harry Potter, they will not be long." He left in a swirl of his cloak, his henchmen followed but not before Greyback had turned to Harry at the door and grinned wolfishly at him.
"I have a feeling that at least one of your friends won't be making it to your little rescue party…I gave him a pretty fatal bite when we bumped into each other last. I'm sure he's gone beyond the veil even now, he was bleeding heavily when we left him there. Although, he did taste a bit tough for my liking, I like them young, Potter…They're much tastier that way." He laughed roughly and licked his lips obscenely, Harry's face went pale.
"Who?! Who was it?!" He asked, eyes wide with fear.
"Oh I think it was Black…although it's difficult to tell when they've got their back to you." Greyback chuckled again and left Harry alone to contemplate his words. Harry fell backwards and stared up at the canopy of the bed, he felt his chest tighten as Greyback's words haunted his mind like some relentless ghost.
"It can't be true." He muttered to himself with a frown. "It just…can't be."
END NOTE: I had to have a slightly calmer chapter to give the characters a rest before more action ensues, I hope that's ok.