Chapter Twenty-Six: Sneak Attack

Ren was looking at Harry, Ron and Ginny reproachfully, as if they were closing on her, and at the broom Ginny offered her as if they intended to hit her with it.

"You did promise," Ron reminded her gleefully.

"Restrain yourself, Ron," Ginny told him. "You can't make her do anything she doesn't want to."

Ren looked at Harry, who didn't hold in a small, amused smile. Ren finally accepted the broom from Ginny, and hesitantly imitated the way the others climbed onto their brooms. Harry stayed with her as the other two demonstrated how to kick off the ground properly.

"You don't have to go very high," Harry told Ren. "After you kick off just sit back a little, and you'll hover. Then we can do a slow circle of the pitch."

Ren looked around the empty Quidditch Pitch. Enna and Hermione were comfortably seated on the lowest benches, and they waved enthusiastically.

Ren looked unconvinced. "You're not all making Enna fly," she pointed out.

Instead of owning up to the obvious injustice, Harry surged ahead, and Ren followed, wobbling uncomfortably for a few seconds until she found her balance.

"Turn and lean forward," Harry instructed, gliding ahead in the air. The broom felt awkward in his hands, but he didn't let it show. Ren was growing confidence, trailing behind, and then finally pulling up next to him. She scowled. Harry sped up, daring her to keep up the pace. After a couple more rounds she broke off their circular path and flew up to surprise Ron and Ginny, displaying immediate talent in her broom handling. Ren was looking a little over-pleased with herself so Harry bumped into her and she shrieked, turning around to bump him back. Laughing, Harry pretended to be falling off, then simply flipped over and flew around her upside down.

"Show off," she muttered.

"I'm proud of you," Harry told his cousin. "You were so stubborn about not flying, what was that all about?"

Ren looked thoughtful. She twisted her hands from a light grip to a firm, possessive grasp. "I've spend so much time thinking of myself as handicapped… for years and years Harry. You don't understand what it's like, people look down on you but expect you to be 'used to it' and always be inferior. Flying… just wasn't for me."

"You love to fly, though, we knew that already. Every time you flew with me, you had so much fun."

"It was just a mental block," Ren admitted. "I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of flying by myself."

Harry swayed on his broom, closing his eyes to a sharp stab of pain at the front of his skull. Ren reached out and gripped his arm, steadying him. "Land," she ordered. They went straight to the ground. Ron, Ginny and Hermione didn't seem to have noticed, but Harry could feel Enna's eyes on him.

"What was that?" Enna asked.

The feeling was gone as fast as it came. "Dunno."

"Scar?" Ren asked, and Harry started to nod, and then shrugged.

"Yes," he decided, "But different, somehow." He headed for Enna, who smiled warmly at him, taking his hand as he sat next to each her. He gestured for Ren to continue, and she practiced her flying a while longer, getting some pointers from the two Weasleys.

Ron grinned slyly at Harry and Enna, and Harry remembered that Ron had caught them in the boys' dormitory together, and looked away immediately. Enna caught the same look and blushed.

That night in Gryffindor Tower, Ron spoke to Harry quietly, "I keep forgetting that she's not just that pretty Hufflepuff girl, that she's a princess…"

"Yeah, it took some getting used to. And you haven't met her mother, either." Harry winced.

"You really don't get along with her, do you?"

"Well…" Harry told him, "She threw me into a dungeon, separated me from my family, drove spikes into my arms, and make me fight another—" He almost accidentally said 'Cursed'— "Portal Guide."

"So she doesn't approve, then?" Ron said.

"Definitely not," Harry confirmed. "She would… I'd rather not think about what she would do, actually."

Harry sat on the edge of his bed, then immediately flopped over backward, eyes rolling back he was hit by another spike of pain, this time worse than before, and thrown into a vision.

Voldemort's dark, slender silhouette was cast in shadow on a stone wall. A wizard stood with him, but seemed to standing back, as far from the Dark Lord as possible. The wizard was holding up a lighted wand for Voldemort to see by, and was brightly illuminated. It was Lucius Malfoy, his eyes nearly closed to shield against the glare. In the dark corner, something was crying, whimpering, and Voldemort stood over a large, clear bowl filled with fresh red blood.

"Lucius, have your wife feed that," Voldemort ordered.

"I don't think there's anything in the kitchen for—"

"Anything will do," Voldemort said sharply.

Harry opened his eyes, recoiling as if the scene were right in front of him. Ron was leaning over him, and jumped when Harry suddenly moved.

"Enna, I think I just saw Voldemort. I think he was doing some kind of blood sacrifice, or ritual…"

Enna didn't respond. "Enna?" he asked again, with the same result.

Ron was trying to talk to him, but Harry couldn't hear it, though he could see Ron's mouth moving.

"ENNA!"

Harry's blood was boiling with anger. Voldemort's hateful face and the whimpering of the poor thing he'd taken blood from was imprinted in his mind, and Enna's soothing presence was nowhere to be found. His amulet felt hot and he grabbed it to look at it closer.

It's hot because it's working overtime, Harry realized, Calm down, Harry. He remembered something else. It's probably calling the Hand. They might even be coming in here… I should leave the dormitories. He pulled on Ron's sleeve, and walked out of the room, Ron following cluelessly.

"I had a vision," Harry finally told Ron. "Let's find somewhere we can meet with the others. Tell someone to get Hermione and Ren."

He wasn't paying much attention while a female Gryffindor went into the girls' dormitory for them, but suddenly Hermione was there, looking slightly irritated. When she saw the look on Harry's face, she looked concerned. Ren was right behind her.

"I think I triggered the amulets," Harry told them.

They four of them left the Tower and looked for an empty room, finding on a large storage closet and settling down to wait. Within the next few minutes the rest of the Hand showed up, looking confused as they stepped through the door to find themselves in a closet. Harry immediately reassured them. Soon he was surrounded by Vosenn, Jon, Gray, Ron, Hermione and Ren, and Sariah got there last, bringing Enna with her. Enna looked slightly dazed.

"Sorry I'm late," Sariah told them. "Enna passed out."

"I'm fine now," Enna said.

"What happened, Harry?" Vosenn asked.

Eyes lingering on Enna, making sure she really was okay, Harry said, "I had a vision about Voldemort. I think I know where he is." He briefly described the vision. Enna passing out must have been a result.

"Draco's father?" Vosenn asked, sounding confused.

"Yes, it sounded like they were at Draco's house," Harry said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"What now?" Ren asked.

"Well I don't know how long he's going to be there, I only know he's there right now." Harry pointed out. "Which means if I want to go after him, this would be the time to do it. The only question left is whether it's a good idea or not."

They contemplated in silence for a minute.

"It's up to you, Harry," Gray finally said. "There are enough of us to take care of things on this end, if you want to go after him."

"I don't think there's any danger of you getting hurt," Ren agreed.

"You could just sneak in and take him out," Ron said excitedly.

Harry nodded, taking a deep breath. "Okay. I think I should do it. I hope that seeing a room in a vision is the same as seeing it while awake to port there. That way I can port right into Draco's house."

Vosenn looked a little like she'd eaten something that didn't agree with her.

"It shouldn't be hard," Sariah mused, "He is just a human wizard."

"Are we sure of that?" Enna asked anxiously.

The storage closet got quiet.

"I'm going," Harry said finally, having reached the decision. "Well, that's that," he said, and prepared to port out.

"Hold it," Vosenn said. "I'm coming along. And…" she looked over the group, "Gray, you too."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her.

"You honestly think we could let you run around somewhere by yourself?" Vosenn demanded.

Gray and Vosenn moved in to stand next to him, and Harry took them both by the elbow. Closing his eyes, he pictured the dark room, as much as he had seen of it, and brought them abruptly to it. The process was much easier when he didn't have to travel in between worlds and traverse the Void.

As Harry had suspected, the vision had been happening in real-time. Little time had passed. Lucius was gone but Voldemort was standing in the exact same spot, his back to them, wand lit over the bowl of blood. He must have heard a small noise, because he growled, "Took you long enough," as if he had been expecting someone. His voice alone grated on Harry's nerves.

Harry reached up, removing his amulet and casually handing it to Vosenn. On either side of him the others took theirs off as well. Harry moved forward pulling his wings up menacingly, a dark shape. Voldemort turned to look and his blank face contorted momentarily in confusion and anger.

"What's this?!" Voldemort demanded.

Harry's only response was a low growl, before he lunged in for the kill. This Bastard really had it coming to him. He deserves to be torn apart.

SMASH!

Harry thought for a second he heard the bones in his face crack as he was stopped up short, his lunge bringing him into contact with a hard, impenetrable surface. A surface that couldn't be seen, a wall that wasn't there.

No matter, Harry thought. His spells can't keep me out. He closed his eyes and ported himself beyond the wall. Opening them, he found himself in the exact same spot, and tried again, only it just wasn't working, the feeling of displacement never came.

Harry froze, incredulous. What on Earth is going on here? NOTHING can stop me. I have ported through the block in the Pit, and they say that was placed by Dark Eyes himself. What is so special about Voldemort that he can put up a shield like this?

The shielding was one sided, because in the next second Harry was assaulted by spell after spell from Voldemort's wand, vicious dark magic that seemed to claw at him. The spells slid off, as if he was well-oiled and they were mere water drops.

Harry unfroze, bashing at the wall in frustration, shaking off curses. Faintly, Harry heard Voldemort laughing, and submerged in a pool of anger, drifting away. Harry blinked a couple times, and the storage closet came into focus.

"Harry?" Enna asked gently.

Ren and Sariah, both sitting next to him, didn't react to his presence, and he realized he wasn't there at all, that he had left his body behind and was now looking through Enna's eyes.

"Yeah, I'm here," he responded.

Ron and Hermione were sitting a few feet away, talking.

"Think about it," Ron said. "We're waiting in a storage closet, while Harry is making a sneak attack on Voldemort. If someone had told me this is where I would be a week ago, and I would have thought they were mad."

Hermione nodded. "On top of that, he's from another world."

"Can't forget that," Ron agreed.

"How strange," Harry commented silently. "One second I'm fighting spells, and the next I'm back here."

"How's it going?" Enna asked.

"Not very well," he answered grimly. "He put up a shield. I can't attack him or port through the shield."

"But you're fighting spells?"

"He's trying to curse me, but it's not sticking. Last thing I remember, I was trying to smash through the shield…"

"Last thing you remember?" She prompted.

"Next second I was here. I've probably… you know… gone over the deep end."

"Harry," Enna said, "Isn't letting your body run free attacking things kind of irresponsible of you?"

"Irresponsible?" Harry repeated.

"Yes. Irresponsible."

"Alright," he agreed, and left the storage closet behind.

Returning to himself, he found his suspicions were correct and he had gone completely berserk in the meantime. Harry snarled and clawed at the barrier, throwing his whole body against it and trying to break though it. Harry tried to calm himself. He took some deep breaths, but felt stuck in quicksand, barely able to move and affect his own body. Something caught his eye, and he turned his head to get a better look at it.

Behind Voldemort, two ice lizards stepped through a portal Harry hadn't noticed, their claws scraping harshly on the stone floor. Their turned their icy little eyes on Harry, emotionless and unaffected. Voldemort dropped the futile assault on Harry, and glanced at him shortly, one last time, before stepping through the portal. The portal shut.

The second Voldemort was gone the shield dissipated, and Harry fell forward.

CALM DOWN, HARRY! He told himself. He belatedly realized that he was lying flat on his back, and someone was standing over him. A slight pressure was holding him down, firmly. Gray was holding his casting stone in his hand, working magic. Vosenn kneeled down to take a closer look at Harry's face, hair swinging forward to conceal her expression.

"Harry?" she asked.

Harry nodded. "Just give me a minute." He closed his eyes, trying to let go of his frustration. "I don't think he recognized me," he said.

"Harry, you're my cousin and I barely recognized you," Gray told him.

Harry's eyes snapped open as he remembered something. "Let me up," he said, and Gray let him go. With his great dark-vision, he scanned the corners of the room and located a limp form. Moving to the corner, he kneeled beside it. Harry pulled out his casting stone and lit it up with a quick thought to get a better look.

It was a Centaur Filly. She was still alive, but very weak, and Harry could see where Voldemort had drawn her blood. Her eyes fluttered open slightly as Harry gathered her up in his arms, and he brought her over to the others.

"How terrible," Vosenn said softly.

"Is it an Earth Centaur, or an Originian Centaur?" Harry asked.

"Originian," Gray replied.

Harry carefully handed the Filly to his cousin. "I'm bringing her home."

He opened a portal as fast as possible. The Void was just a flash before he returned for the Filly. Gray and Vosenn were right behind him as they stepped onto the soft grass of another world, into the dusk of Origin. He closed the portal. In front of them was the meeting hill of the Centaur Elders.

"You think they're in a meeting right now?" Vosenn asked.

"If we're lucky," Harry said.

They were. After treading quietly through the tunnel into the hill, they entered the meeting room and found four Centaurs, not the Elders in their entirety, but enough. Harry stepped forward with the Filly, and he heard a gasp. He looked around quickly but he didn't see the Centaurs he knew, Enilor or Eniladas.

"What have you done?" A pale colored Centaur demanded. The Elders were all shocked, horrified, seeing the blood.

"I had nothing to do with this," Harry explained quickly. "I found her held captive by an enemy of mine and I'm bringing her home."

"Don't listen to him, he's Touched," someone said.

"He's telling the truth," Vosenn said firmly.

"What's been done to her?" The first Centaurs asked.

"A dark wizard took her blood. He had it in a bowl, and he was looking into it. I don't know any more than that," Harry told them regretfully.

"Well thank you," the Centaur said, stepping forward to take her from Harry. Harry was about to say 'you're welcome' when the Centaur added, "If you are merely rescuing her, as you claim."

They weren't inclined to trust him. Gray met his eyes, and shrugged.

Another portal and they were back in Hogwarts. The rapidly changing surroundings disoriented Harry for a moment. He was weary of trying to cope with all the changes in his life, frustrated with the failure of his attack and just wanted to sleep. He could ponder the mysterious connections of Voldemort and the ice lizards tomorrow.

Everyone got to their feet, eager to hear what had happened. Harry filled them in briefly and then stalked off to go to bed, leaving them to discuss it by themselves.