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Chapter 36
Free to Serve
With the destruction of the portrait, Voldemort's will had finally been broken and the protective curtain charms with it - though the physical drapes remained in place. The sound of chanting was no longer magically muffled and it washed like a stormy tide onto the dark podium together with the shouts of triumph from Harry, Ginny, and Neville.
"Reducto!" cried Harry enthusiastically and the now-unprotected cage broke apart and collapsed leaving free passage onto the stage past the edge of the great red drapes. The three of them swooped across to Hermione on their broomsticks but she had turned all her attention to Ron.
"Finite! Finite!" Hermione was near hysterical with frustration; she was trying to separate the unconscious Ron from the iron bench but without success. She had seen his pain and was frantic to release him before he awoke. She set to work to trace the enchantment, found it warded and immediately began to struggle to try to break through the protective spell.
"Hermione..." began Harry.
"Harry, Harry - fetch Professor Bingley - she'll be able to break it..." Hermione was flustered. She continued but her emotional state made it almost impossible for her to concentrate very well. She felt desperate having been thwarted so close to rescuing Ron and was over-anxious to help him.
Harry looked at Neville and Ginny and shook his head warningly. He decided it was not the right time to tell Hermione of the teacher's death.
"Let me try, Hermione," he said gently and Ginny put her hand on Hermione's shoulder to guide her to one side.
Harry used the elder wand to break down the wards that locked Ron to the punishing contraption and succeeded within a couple of minutes. He scratched his head though when he looked at the physical chain. Not wishing to blast the physical shackle with Ron's ankle still in it, he used the Revulsion Jinx instead.
"Relashio!"
The metal shackle creaked and groaned as it reluctantly released its hold on the ankle then Neville pulled Ron across the floor away from the bench.
"Think you'll have to free them all yourself, Harry?" whispered Ginny. She need not have been so secretive about the elder wand; Hermione was far too preoccupied with reviving Ron to consider how Harry had managed the task so quickly. Hermione found no further enchantments on Ron himself; he had simply passed out from resisting the very painful controlling curse that had been on the bench.
"it's not that hard - just takes time," said Harry. "Any of us can do it but it takes longer with a normal wand. If we can find the counter-spell we can do them really fast."
"But so many of them. What we going to do with them all?" said Ginny.
"Likely more Death Eaters too, Harry," cautioned Neville. "We've got to keep... stay careful."
"Yes..." Harry looked thoughtful. "We still can't... It's still up to us so we'll have to make up teams and do some searching soon as we can. We must get back to Luna and Rolf or..."
"Bring them here?" said Ginny.
They looked around. Ron was stirring slowly. He lay on his back on the floor with his head in Hermione's lap and as he dreamily looked up at her he didn't seem to be in any hurry to get up. Hermione was refreshing his face with her dampened handkerchief and gazed happily down at him. It was the first time she had smiled properly in a long while though it was a tired smile. She spoke to the others without turning from Ron.
"There are empty living quarters through that door there," Hermione gestured vaguely with a free arm. "Food, refreshments; Ginny, there's even a proper shower in Lestraithe's quarters-"
"Merlin's Joy!" cried Ginny, "Let's all go there then, Harry - get Luna and..."
Harry was already casting his patronus to get a message to Rolf.
"Wait! Wait!" cried Hermione; she did now turn to look at the others. "Just one thing - on no account go down into the basement; the inferius is sealed in there... and there may be a direct way out. And watch out for an old elf called Klaff - he might have warned the Death Eaters if there are any left."
"Come on then, Hermione - show us the way," said Ginny
"I can't leave Ron..."
"Oh, Hermione, don't you know yet when he's faking it?" smiled Ginny. She studied her brother's face then smirked. "He'll move soon enough when that little bug crawls a bit further up his leg."
Ron yelped and struggled quickly to his feet. He scowled at Ginny's grin when he realized almost immediately he had been tricked. "Hey! I really am... rather weak you know..."
"Yeah? And what about Hermione?" responded Ginny. "Look at her."
Although Ron had been looking at her for the past minute it had been through a kind of heavenly haze of gratitude and delight at being relieved of his misery; he only now really studied Hermione sensibly. Her face was terribly marked with the stress of the last few hours and her eyes were dark despite her relief that Ron was rescued. She looked worn and thin and very tired. Ron suddenly felt mean. His own trials were forgotten in a moment and a wave of concern flooded through him as he realized what Hermione must have endured. He took her in his arms. "Hermione... 'mione..."
Hermione took great comfort in the embrace and from Ron's spontaneous and genuine show of affection. It revived her spirits and her will for she had come periously close to not wishing to live at all.
"Hey - you two," said Harry - but he was smiling. "Hermione, I think you should get a few hours rest. How you feeling Ron? Fit enough to guard her and Luna while we do a search for Death Eaters with Rolf?"
"Yes but I'll have to borrow..." said Ron sheepishly, "I've got no wand."
"Harry! My bag!" cried Hermione. "Did you get my bag?"
"Got it here," said Ginny, handing it over.
Hermione rummaged inside and dug out the wand she had found near the stair where Ron had been captured.
"This is it, isn't it Ron?" said Hermione. She sounded fairly sure but was puzzled to see another wand in her bag. She handed Ron his wand then took out the second wand. She looked at it for a few seconds then her face lightened. She was about to speak but was interrupted.
"Am I to conclude that Mr. Weasley is now safe?" came the voice of Dumbledore's portrait from the bag.
Hermione propped it up half out of the bag and placed the bag on the floor so the portrait could see everyone. They were all beaming and Ron was happily swishing his recovered wand. He no longer felt vulnerable.
"Yes, sir," replied Hermione, "and Voldemort was just a..." She hesitated as she considered she was talking to a portrait. "That is, there was a large portrait of Voldemort..."
"Destroyed?" asked Dumbledore's picture.
"Yes Professor," answered Harry. "Hermione did it - she was brilliant!"
"And the Death Eaters?"
"Sir, there are hundreds and hundreds of house-elves and other creatures and even wizards and witches down here forced to do Voldemort's bidding - to curse the world," said Harry, "but we think there are only a few Death Eaters now. We are about to search for them."
He looked at Dumbledore's portrait expecting to see him pleased but instead the image looked concerned.
"Sir?"
"The house-elves, Harry..."
"No problem - it will just take time to free them all. The main difficulty will be to get everyone out - above ground again," said Harry.
"And how do you propose to free them, Harry?"
"Well we... We just..." said Harry, starting to wonder what the portrait was driving at.
"They must be bound to obey their master's commands," said the portrait.
"But the Voldemort painting is destroyed, sir..."
"A house-elf would never directly obey a painting, Harry. Even if they thought it was their master, the magic would not compel them."
"But..."
"They must be obeying the command of their true master to finish whatever Voldemort's portrait commanded," said the painting.
"Regulus! That's what Regulus Black told Kreacher! He told him he must do whatever Voldemort ordered him to do..."
"Exactly, Harry. They probably would not even know it was a portrait. They were almost certainly physically present and told to forever obey 'him' and the portrait pointed out from a distance. A house-elf is bound to a house. If their master gives them a command they must carry it out - even if it is... their master's last command."
"Oh no! You mean their true masters are dead?" cried Hermione, horrified at what she was thinking, "that they were... killed?"
"We do not know for sure but it is very likely true for many of them. Others might be still prisoners there. Some would be Death Eaters themselves. So many of those have either been killed or are in Azkaban." The portrait paused. "It will be exceedingly difficult to stop the house-elves without... harm."
"Oh sir! We cannot... We just cannot!" cried Hermione.
"Of course not, Miss Granger," replied Dumbledore's portrait.
"I don't understand, sir," said Harry. "What exactly are they doing then?"
"The world, Harry - they are still cursing the world."
"But surely... What do elves normally do with their master's last command?" asked Harry.
""Normally the next in line to the house becomes the new master and can counter a previous order that has not yet been carried out," said the portrait. "But there have been famous cases where that could not happen. For instance there was an elf who was commanded to dig the garden during which time the home and its master was destroyed by a wayward curse."
"But what happened to the elf?" asked Hermione.
"The elf was blown over but unharmed. He got up and continued digging. He still digs to this day," said the portrait. "The Ministry have a fund for such occurrences - shelter and supplies and such like. I believe they built him a little hut and regularly dump fresh soil for the elf to continue digging - otherwise he would just try to dig at the bedrock."
"But that's totally barbaric!" exclaimed Hermione, picturing a house-elf pointlessly digging alone in an empty, deserted garden.
"It is a tragedy Miss Granger but it does illustrate the enormous difficulty of resolving the greater tragedy we have now," said the portrait.
"Have you any suggestions, sir?" asked Harry.
"No, Harry, I do not." Dumbledore's portrait looked very grave. "I shall consult with others but I do not believe anyone has ever solved this long-standing problem. Fortunately there have been very, very few occurrences - until now."
After Dumbledore's image had departed the frame again and the portrait stowed away in Hermione's bag, they reassembled in Lestraithe's quarters. Yet they could not stay long and had someone on guard all the time. They knew that at any moment an unknown number of Death Eaters might launch a surprise attack. They grabbed a few sandwiches and tea while Ginny delighted in a welcome hot shower and within thirty minutes they were preparing to depart leaving Hermione and Ron behind.
Hermione slept in Lestraithe's bedroom and Ron sat in a chair outside to keep guard for a while although he was soon pacing around and listening alertly. He still felt a little guilty that he had blundered into being captured so easily before and was determined it would not happen again.
Harry, Neville, and Ginny took to their brooms and glided slowly through the main root hall. They found Pansy Parkinson and the older woman where Hermione had told them they would be. The old woman was still stunned but Parkinson's eyes flashed her bad temper at being bound. Ginny grinned evilly at her as she pointed her wand and immobilized her; she was actually doing her the favour of bestowing unconsciousness. Harry immobilized the old woman as well. He felt a little sorry for her until he thought of all the terrible things that Death Eaters had done over the years. No doubt this woman had done her share.
They were about to hover them away when they saw a bright splash of several figures approaching through the big root gap. It seemed a strange sight: Rolf Scamander, his great long bag slung over one shoulder, led the group. His wand was out and he walked lightly and cautiously as if he were moving down a jungle track. Feya trotted along at his side. Behind them was Luna engulfed in fluffy yellow and blue blankets within the embrace of an old red leather armchair that Rolf had found somewhere. She was hovering regally along like a queen in her carriage. Beside her strode the great mastiff, apricot-fawn and white and black, tongue lolling out and tail wagging happily. Around this colourful entourage were the dull grey fields of benches and workers still toiling away oblivious of all else; it was an astonishing contrast.
"Harry! We've come to rescue you!" cried Luna.
"How are you, Luna?" said Harry with a smile as Neville and Ginny made friends with Tepps - cautiously at first but they soon discovered the dog was quick to recognize its master's comrades.
"Oh I'm much better. I can stand and even walk a little now but I do like to let Rolf fuss over me and I do love this comfy armchair. I'd like to keep it actually. That wouldn't be stealing would it, Harry?" smiled Luna.
Rolf grinned at them all as he bent down and instructed Feya to apparate the two Death Eaters away to join the other captives in the maze.
"Spoils of war, Luna - or emergency requisition," replied Harry with a smirk.
"I like it, Harry!" exulted Luna, "What does it mean?"
"Stealing," grinned Harry, then added, "- with good intentions."
Luna beamed. She still looked a little weak and there were extra care lines in her face but she was clearly recovering well. They all chatted for a few minutes until Feya reappeared.
"Luna, why don't you and Feya and Tepps head through that doorway over there?" Harry gestured back towards the Death Eater quarters which was just visible through the haze. "You'll find Ron - Hermione's asleep. She's had a rough time of it but she'll come through. The four of you should be a match for any Death Eaters that are unfortunate enough to come your way! Rolf - we're doing a clean up operation. We're searching around for any others. Are you up for it?"
Rolf was more than agreeable. He quickly kissed Luna goodbye and everyone made their farewells. Ginny spoke as Luna was about to leave.
"Oh and Luna... Hermione and Ron don't know yet about..."
"Professor Bingley?" said Luna. "I'll be very careful..."
"Oh and if Ron's not there... I mean if you can't find him immediately..." Ginny hesitated, "What I mean is... don't go blundering in..."
"Oh they'll be kissing and cuddling," smiled Luna. "It's a survival instinct don't you know? - after you've been in lots of danger I mean. Rolf and I have to do it quite a lot now."
She waved a hand just visible above the back of her chair as they watched her gliding away accompanied by Feya and the dog who both scampered along happily by her side.
Rolf, slightly flushed in the face, busied himself taking his broomstick out of his bag and the four of them were soon flying. The four kept close together and remained vigilant; they were taking no chances as they still could not be sure how many Death Eaters remained. However, they need not have worried. Up the stairs where Ron had been captured they found a meeting room; a workforce management area full of log books, tags, tokens, and chains; a few open cells; and various other rooms of no obvious purpose. All were empty except for a single very old man - virtually senile and rambling. He did not even have a wand.
Rolf questioned him extensively. The man's confused replies indicated that there had been only five other Death Eaters and two elves - one very old; all had fled with thestrals through the maze. Apparently none of them were privy to all the information that Lestraithe had and they believed that was the way out.
Harry anxiously pulled Rolf to one side. Ginny and Neville went with them but Neville kept his eyes on the old Death Eater.
"What if they find and release Farindon and Draco and the others?" said Harry.
Rolf shook his head. "When I took Lestraithe and the others I made sure they were all put together down two or three side passages well off the thestral's route."
"But where d'you reckon the thestrals would take them, Rolf?" asked Neville.
"I don't think those Death Eaters know anything about the banquet hall. Voldemort would have brought them in directly through the void. There's no way they'd head for the void or the fiendfyre if they knew how deadly they are without Voldemort with you. They could only tell the thestrals to take them through the maze. The banquet hall door will be sealed and their elves won't be able to apparate them through if they've not been there."
"They'll be trapped in the maze!" said Ginny. Her pendant flashed wickedly. "Give them a taste of their own medicine."
"They could apparate back here with the elves," said Harry.
"I don't think so," said Rolf thoughtfully. "We know the elves are particularly susceptible to the curses in the maze. Remember Feya was the first to collapse among us and we - all of us - were casting counter-curses most of the time; we were organized. Look at how much preparation and care we took to survive in there. I'd give those Death Eaters an hour or two at most before they are irretrievably confused; twenty minutes might be enough."
He turned back to the old man. "How long have they been gone?"
"Dark Lady fell - they ran like hell!" laughed the old man, amused at his own rhyme.
"How'd they know she fell?" asked Harry.
The old man looked at Harry as if he were an idiot and rolled up his right sleeve. There was a new kind of dark mark there. Try as they might they could not get any comprehensible explanation of it from the old man but it did seem the mark gave them some rudimentary communication between themselves and Lestraithe.
The old man was pressing his mark and laughing madly. "Nothing! Nothing! No Dark Lady!"
This time Rolf pulled the others to one side. "They think Lestraithe's dead. He seems delighted."
"Well, she's immobilized," said Harry. "Good as dead - kind of frozen. Maybe..."
"What about the thestrals?" asked Ginny. "Can the Death Eaters come back with them?"
"If they've been gone since Lestraithe fell then they're not coming back," said Rolf firmly. "They can't survive in there."
"Can we check how many thestrals they took?" asked Harry. "Maybe keep watch for any returning. Can you tell if they've been... You know, if they are..."
"Yes, I can tell if they've been worked recently. It's obvious. The ones left in the stable will be relaxed; any returning will be highly active - body heat, respiration, heartbeat; wing flexing is different for several hours."
Neville was still watching the old man and did not hesitate to immobilize and hover him when they moved out to check the stables. They found Crachflink dead - lying face down in a pile of his beloved droppings.
"They killed him?" exclaimed Harry. "They killed him just to get some thestrals?"
"Crachflink loved these creatures - he might have argued, resisted..." said Rolf. "They were in a hurry..."
He went among the remaining animals checking on their condition.
"They've only taken one thestral!" said Rolf, "Darklight is the only one not here and these others haven't exercised all day."
"Why would they not..." began Ginny.
"Didn't know about riding - or scared to try - or panicked more like," said Neville. "They walked out. They all walked, following the one thestral."
"It's you Harry," said Ginny quietly. There was a look of wonder in her eyes.
"What? What about me?" asked Harry.
"Once they thought their 'Dark Lady' was dead and the great warrior, Voldemort-killer, Harry Potter, was hunting Death Eaters, they were quaking in their boots; couldn't think straight."
"Very funny," muttered Harry.
"Harry - I'm serious," said Ginny. "You still don't realize the power of your name do you? You, a schoolboy, have defeated possibly the most powerful dark wizard of all time."
Harry rolled his eyes then grinned. "So, it's my name you're after is it Mrs. Potter?" He put out his arms and took a step towards her but trod in some muck.
"Well it's definitely not your brain!" smirked Ginny but she welcomed his hug and the sound of her future name.
She turned to watch Rolf. He was letting all the thestrals out through the double door into the wooded garden. Dawn was breaking and the golden light of the sun was just beginning to blaze the tops of the tallest trees.
"They'll feed and exercise themselves out there," said Rolf. He watched with satisfaction as they flapped and tested their wings. Some trotted or galloped towards the woods; others took to the air and flew high, circling around towards and over the trees, catching the warmth of the early sun and rejoicing in their freedom.
The four wizards checked the common room opposite the inner stable door then placed the three Death Eaters they had immobilized with the others just inside the maze. After some deliberation, Rolf sent his patronus with a message towards Darklight - the only living being they knew - to lead the other Death Eaters back. The patronus returned alone but shortly thereafter the thestral came back - again alone. While Rolf led Darklight back through the stable to the woods, Harry sent his patronus to the banquet hall door but again it returned alone. After an hour they had to accept that all the Death Eaters and their elves had perished.
Harry sent out his patronus yet again, this time to Luna, to inform the others of their status and that they would continue searching every corridor and room for a few more hours to be sure there were no more enemy. After that they would rejoin Luna and the others.
They finished their search in the root halls of which they could now see there were five domes roughly in a crucifix layout although the roots of four were more openly spaced and less obviously domes. They flew back and forth but the only Death Eater they found were the bloated remains of the patrolling guard who had been partly-eaten by the quintaped. Rolf was fascinated to see that the creature had regurgitated part of the man back inside his body so its stomach acids could help digest it ready for a quick snack later. The others were less fascinated and almost vomited themselves. They left the corpse where it was as they did also with that of Wilmot which was still embedded in the wall outside the cells near the maze entrance.
As they cruised slowly amongst the captives and looked at all the empty faces they wondered where on earth they could start to help them all. They themselves had no certain way out yet. They needed to call a general meeting to discuss what to do. They felt deflated rather than elated that they come this far yet still they might be trapped and the world would continue to be cursed.
On their return, Harry was pleased to find everyone awake and available and Luna was now walking about although a frail version of her orginal self. He was also pleased to hear that she had informed both Ron and Hermione of Professor Bingley's death and that he had not had to be part of that undoubtably painful impartation. He felt guilty about feeling that way because deep down he had hoped that would happen and if he was being regarded as the group's leader he felt he had shirked his duty.
Harry sighed as he sat down at the large table around which everyone was gathered in the common dining room. He sat between Ginny and Hermione; Ron was on the other side of Hermione. Feya had provided a meal for all which they had just enjoyed. The room had a fireplace and a fire had been lit for atmosphere more than anything and Luna's dog Tepps was stretched out on the hearth rug in front of it keeping an eye on the door and one ear cocked. The group felt some relaxation from the stress they had been under but they could not relax for long; now it was time for business.
Hermione began. "I've been thinking about how we're going to get out - back to the surface I mean..."
"And all the prisoners too," said Ginny.
"Yes, and all the prisoners too," repeated Hermione. "There is-"
"Tell them about the portal-" butted in Ron.
"I'm just going to, Ron," sighed Hermione. She paused, then smiled. "Good to have you back, Ron."
Everybody laughed and Ron took a couple of bows.
"As I was saying... about to say," Hermione took a sideways smirk look at Ron, "there is what I'm sure is a void portal in the basement and the Voldemort inferius is down there... I think I said this before..."
"Only Lestraithe can control it though." It was Ginny interrupting this time.
"Yes - so one possible solution is to... persuade her to-"
"Oh no!" cried Neville amidst headshaking from a few others, "I wouldn't trust her again."
"We have to consider it though," said Harry. He clearly was not very happy at the prospect.
"The only other way I can think of is to drive it with fire but-"
"How?" cried Ginny, "How do we do that? We'd have to-"
"I don't know - but we have to think about it is what I'm saying," affirmed Hermione.
"She'd have to have a wand again," said Ron.
"Who? Lestraithe?" asked Hermione. "Yes, well-"
"She's not having a wand!" declared Neville flatly.
"We may have to, Neville," said Harry.
"What about a ring of fire?" asked Ron. "I think there's a spell..."
"It's really advanced though," said Hermione.
There was a long silence. Rolf went over and leaned over Tepps to stir the fire with the poker but it didn't really need it. Ron pushed one or two leftover dessert dishes to one side and starting playing with the salt cellar. Feya eyed the table anxiously wondering if she should clear it up yet or not interrupt.
"What happens when Voldemort goes through the portal?" asked Luna. She looked around at everyone.
"What?" asked Ron.
"We're discussing using the inferius; don't we first need to think what actually happens," said Luna. "Voldemort would have avoided going through the void at all don't you think?"
"So..." said Harry, looking inquiringly at Luna.
"So, shouldn't we try to find out what happens when his dead body tries to go through?"
"You think it might open the portal completely?" asked Hermione.
"It's a possibility," said Luna. "That's what I would do if it were me. If I were the most powerful dark wizard in the world I'd just want my doorway to open for me as I approached. The void is just if you're not with Voldemort."
"But..." puzzled Ginny, without adding anything.
"Hermione, how near was the inferius to the portal?" asked Luna.
"Well I was rather busy at the time trying to get out of its clutches and..." Hermione huffed then tailed off. "The portal was right at the back so... it's a very big basement ... it never went near it." She finished emphatically as she recalled the unpleasant ordeal.
"Why doesn't the inferius go out of the portal on its own then?" asked Ron.
"An inferius has no particular will of its own," said Hermione. "It just does what its master orders it to do."
"So, Luna... are you saying if we somehow push the inferius near the portal..." said Harry.
"A cage," said Rolf, who had been standing quietly listening all this time, leaning on the mantlepiece fiddling with a tobacco pipe he had found. "An inferius is a physical being. No spell will work on it to stun it or immobilize it but it's blocked right now by the basement door isn't it? So it can be physically trapped. If we can trap it in a cage and place it near the portal we can test Luna's theory." He tapped out the pipe in the hearth and re-examined it.
"Rolf, could you..." began Harry. "How do we make a cage?"
"Mmm... Need to be metal... needs some thought..." said Rolf thoughtfully. He was holding the pipe up as if imagining how it might be to smoke a pipe. He struck a pose.
"The cage on Voldmort's podium - It can easily be repaired and shrunk," said Neville confidently. "It's not charmed anymore."
"Brilliant!" said Harry. Neville flushed a little at the compliment and grinned.
"Rolf, are you thinking of taking up smoking?" asked Luna. "Won't that scare away the animals? The smell?"
"Grandfather smoked a pipe," said Rolf. "I was too young then. Whenever I see a pipe I think of him. I think he smoked something magically pure though. My mother might know. It helped him to think and I didn't see any effect on the animals we were studying when I was with him."
"Well we could use some of that right now because we've still no idea how to free the elves," said Harry. "It will be difficult enough to free the others but the elves-"
"Feya will free the elves," said Feya quietly from a corner where she had placed herself out of the way but available.
Everyone stared at her.
"Begging your pardon, Harry Potter sir, but Feya is to free the elves," said the little elf shyly.
"That's why you're here isn't it?" said Luna. "That's why you've come - to free the elves."
"Glad you're here anyway, Feya," said Ron. He looked around at everyone else. "Merlin's pants - we'd never have made it without Feya!"
Hermione put her hand on Ron's.
"Well, we wouldn't would we?" he said defensively to her. She was smiling and shaking her head in agreement. "Anyway, she makes a nice cup of tea." Ron poured himself another to try to distract everyone from his embarrassing outburst.
"Why didn't you say before, Feya?" asked Rolf.
"Feya did not know until now Master Rolf, sir," said the elf timidly. "But - not time yet."
Luna smiled. "Feya, will you tell us when... when you are ready?"
Now Feya smiled. "Yes, Miss Luna, Feya will know."
"Harry, you can close your mouth now," said Ginny.
Harry's mouth had been gaping at what Feya had said. He closed it and blinked. "Erm... yes... Where was I?"
"Freeing the others you said," said Ginny.
"Oh yes, if we can scour around and try to find a counter-spell for the benches for the non-elf prisoners it will speed things up a bit," said Harry. "One of us could nip back to that management room - where the chains were, remember? There were some books and things..."
He looked around for volunteers. "Anyone?"
Ron laughed which started everyone else laughing at the hopeful look on Harry's face. "Looks like it's you again, Harry," grinned Ron.
"I have something," said Hermione. "I'd forgotten."
She leant down and pulled something out of her sock. It was Lestraithe's shrunken log book from her office. Hermione removed the charm, restored it to normal size, and placed it on the table.
"Hermione!" Ron was still laughing. "What else you got in your sock!"
"My foot," said Hermione drily. She started turning pages.
Ron and Harry on either side leaned over to look, Harry blinking at the small, untidy lettering.
Hermione looked up and smiled. "Harry Potter! Whenever are you going to learn this spell? ... Oculus Reparo!"
She pointed her wand at Harry's broken spectacles and mended them.
"Erm... yes. Thanks Hermione, I really must-"
"-Remember that one!" chimed in Hermione. She looked down again at the log book, turned a few more pages, then she remembered her index charm.
"Here it is!" she said. "It's Servus Libero. It says, Use upward wand pull motion. Can be cast on many"
"Brilliant!" said Harry. "This is working out better than I'd hoped. So we can release them in groups quickly and-"
"Where'll we put them all? How will they feel? How will they behave?" asked Luna sadly. "They'll be confused, frightened. Some of them... their minds may be broken. All they will know is... obedience."
"Out of this cursed place," said Harry firmly. "We take them as quickly as possible out of here."
Hermione continued to read, "Those little wands are almost useless - except for the curses - there are several: heat, foul air corruptions, confusions, melancholies... In time the Muggles wouldn't stand a chance. They wouldn't know what is happening nor what to do."
There was a sombre silence for a while as Hermione continued to read then suddenly she shrieked and leapt to her feet with her wand raised. In less than a second everyone else was also standing, wands-drawn.
Hermione pointed her wand at her open bag on the table. "Accio tracker!"
A small silvery creature leapt out and tried to slither quickly away. Harry recognized it as the same kind of magical creature that he and Rolf had seen outside the thestral stable: the silvery snake from the medallion.
"Reducto!" yelled Hermione. The wretched worm writhed for a moment then fragmented and its magic died.
"That's how she knew where we were!" Hermione was shaking. "That's why... Professor Bingley is..."
Hermione burst into tears and turned away. It was her bag. She felt responsible. She felt ashamed.
"Hermione, we don't know when..." said Harry. "It could have gotten in anytime..."
"I left the bag open so often... for Professor Dumbledore's portrait to keep in touch."
"Hermione..." said Ron hesitantly, trying to comfort her with his arm around her shoulder, "Nobody's fault. Not your fault. Lestraithe's the one responsible not you..."
Hermione was nodding her head, her feelings trying to adjust to her common sense.
"I'll like to rip out Lestraithe's heart and..." said Ginny angrily. "Just set her up, give her back her wand and let me at her!"
"She took... She used my wand," said Rolf sadly. "She killed the professor with my wand." He was now sitting down with Luna at the table again. "I'd like to search for that one more time before we leave."
Hermione looked up at Rolf and wiped her eyes. "Yours? I have it. I took it from her. Why'd she use your wand? Her shield was weak - it broke easily."
Harry and Ginny exchanged glances but said nothing.
Rolf was glad to get his wand back. He fondly examined it then thrust Farindon's wand deeply into his bag.
"I mastered it - it's mine fair and square," he said in guilty response to the inquisitive looks from everyone. "Souvenir. I don't plan on fighting Death Eaters ever again if I can help it."
"You can mount it on a plaque above our mantlepiece, Rolf," said Luna. "I'm proud of you. It's something to tell our grandchildren when you tell them this story."
They spent the next few hours refining the details of their plans. Neville repaired the cage and reduced it to slightly less than the width of the basement door. He had included the sliding door on the open end and practiced to make sure that it slid freely and locked using the locking charm.
By mid-afternoon they were ready to see if they could capture the inferius. The basement door was separated from the basement steps by a spacious open area which was empty except for a sturdy table in one corner and a heap of firewood logs below it. This gave Rolf and Harry plenty of room to stand well back from the door, wands drawn and ready to use the fire spell to drive the creature back if anything went wrong. The cage hovered to one side of the door and Neville nervously climbed on the table beside it ready to proceed.
"It's not a mouse, Nev," said Harry. "It won't run up your leg."
Neville grinned sheepishly but remained on the table. Everyone else remained upstairs but Ron stood at the top of the basement steps to watch the proceedings and offer assistance if needed.
"Right," said Neville, "I slide open the cage door; Harry, you open the basement door; I float the cage in front; Voldy steps inside; I charm the cage door shut. Ready?" The other two nodded anxiously and braced themselves.
"Alohomora!" declared Neville, pointing his wand at the cage.
The cage door slid smoothly upwards. Neville nodded to the other two and Harry used the same spell to swing open the basement door. Neville swiftly floated the cage in front of the door and they waited tensely. Nothing happened for quite a while. It was dark and silent within the basement. Hermione had warned them there was a magic drain set on the room so there was no purpose in trying to send forth a hovering light through the cage and into the basement.
They were all just relaxing from their initial alertness when suddenly the inferius hurtled through the basement door and smashed into the back of the cage, pushing the cage out a few inches and starting it swaying. This dislodged the sliding door which fell down shut with a crash before Neville had even recovered from the shock. The creature was twisting and turning trying to reach the wizards and making revolting noises from its throat but it seemed unable to escape.
"Colloportus! Colloportus!" yelled Neville rather shakily from his table and the cage door gave a satisfactory click as it locked. After a few seconds he added breathlessly, "Well... that went well."
Rolf and Harry lit a couple of hand torches and their flames flickered eerily on the grotesque creatures replusive body. Neville climbed down and floated the cage with its prisoner back into the basement but there it sank quickly to the ground. Everyone sighed as they realized the magic drain would counter the hover charm. Rolf was used to handling all kinds of magical creature traps. He conjured up some wheels and they pushed the table in front of the cage. By this means, two of them could easily trundle the cage inside by pushing on the table and not getting too close to the grasping arms of the inferius through the cage bars.
As they pushed the cage further inside and they entered with their torches they saw the basement was very long - perhaps thirty or forty paces - but apart from shelving around the walls it was almost empty. At the far end were the two stone pillars and within them the black surface which they felt sure must be the void portal. As they approached the portal they were getting more and more anxious.
"What if we push it through and it disappears?" said Neville. "I don't fancy going in there after it blind, do you?"
There was a sudden flare of light and through the cage was revealed a wall of swirling fire along a long black corridor. The heat came back at them and they were forced to retreat a few steps; the caged creature screamed hoarsely. Yet just as suddenly as it had appeared the fire began to die down and seemed to be retreating into the floor of the corridor.
"It's the fiendfyre!" cried Harry. "We're back at the fiendfyre!"
As the flames withdrew there was another astonishing sight to see and Harry strode around the cage and out through the portal doorway to see better. Many silvery magical shields surged and flowed from wall to wall and floor to ceiling in front of several figures beyond it. All were using their wands and one of them was a tall, bald, black wizard. He recovered first and his deep voice boomed out:
"Harry! Is that you?"
"Kingsley? Kingsley Shacklebolt?" Harry almost wanted to rub his eyes in disbelief.
"Can we let down our shields, Harry?" cried Kingsley.
"Erm, yes, I er... guess so... Better wait a minute..."
"How are you doing it, Harry? How are you controlling it?"
"It's erm... You won't believe..."
"It's Voldemort!" Neville strode forward with a big grin on his face. "We've got Voldemort that's how! His inferius!"
"Neville Longbottom? Good to see you," said Kingsley, "and this must be..."
"Rolf Scamander, sir," said Rolf as he joined the other two.
Call me Kingsley, Rolf," said the Minister. He was leaning slightly to look behind Rolf at the caged creature just beyond the portal doorway.
"And that, I assume, is the inferius? We had heard..." Kingsley paused. "Gentlemen, I think we can lower our shields."
The men in his group cautiously and reluctantly lowered their wands and the great swirling shields diminished and disappeared. There was a silence for a few seconds apart from the groaning of the inferius and the faint flickering of flames below the grid in the floor then Kingsley took the plunge and strode over the grating to greet Harry properly. The others followed very reluctantly then they held back slightly, staring at Harry with a kind of reverential awe. Harry assumed they were Aurors but he didn't recognize any of them.
"You look dreadful Harry! Good to see you!" Kingsley boomed.
"That bad huh?" said Harry, "It's been tough."
"I'll bet... I'll bet it has..." said Kingsley thoughtfully.
"How did you even get close..." said Harry.
"Oh we've been fighting for days trying to find a way to suppress the fiendfyre but without success. Best we could do was several special shields to protect ourselves while we tried a few things but we never could get past it. The Chinese had a team down here. The French tried some new counter-curses. None of us could stop it. Only a very powerful wizard can control fiendfyre."
Kingsley was still beaming at Harry. "Really good to see you my friend!"
"You too, Kingsley," said Harry enthusiastically. It was good - good to see another human soul, a familiar face, and have a more direct contact with the outside world after so long underground.
"Everyone else OK?"
"Luna and Hermione have been pretty badly affected but will be... Well, I don't think any of us will be quite the same again," said Harry quietly. "You know about Professor Bingley?"
"Yes, a sad loss," said Kingsley. "I've been to see her family along with Professor McGonagall. They are grief-stricken of course but justifiably proud."
Kingsley turned to one of the men. "Norris, set up a small team here of three or four to manage this passage; we'll be bringing people out. Move the inferius out here to one side away from the door and... obscure it with wire mesh or something; it's enough to scare the pants off a gravedigger's ghost. Take care its still visible - though I suspect just its presence is detected magically even if it can't be seen at all."
Kingsley sent his patronus to get more assistance and to pass the news that access had been gained then Harry led him inside to meet the others. Ron had already descended the basement steps. He could see the portal was open and had informed everyone upstairs. They jubilantly came down to see for themselves and were greeted by Kingsley coming in.
They wasted no time freeing the non-elf captives once they had more manpower and healers. More and more wizards and witches came down to help because almost all the captives were unable to understand what was happening. A few who had only been there a few months broke down in tears but the long-term captives just stood around dumbly waiting for instructions.
The centaurs recovered best of all. Their mentality was so strong that they were able to grasp the significance of events and were ready to depart. Many of them became angry after a while but as they learned that all the Death Eaters had been dealt with they settled down in a group to await their passage back to the surface.
There was a growing hubbub as more helpers arrived and many different groups were having their own discussions, confused or otherwise. In the midst of this the house-elf captives continued their discordant chant. The noise grew until most everyone was having to speak more loudly to be heard and this increased the overall noise level even more.
A few of the more seriously injured or sick were shipped out quickly but the rest formed in groups over the next couple of hours while preparations were made above to receive them. A few house-elves had been brought in to feed those in need.
Harry and the others were anxious to get out of there yet could not bring themselves to leave until they could see the captives being freed. Harry felt a tug on his sleeve. It was Feya.
"Mr. Harry Potter, sir. Feya must be ready now, sir." said the little elf timidly.
Harry glanced at Luna then bent down to talk to the elf. He could she was visibly shaking with fear but of what he did not know. "What do you need?"
Feya pointed a wavering arm at the great red curtains which still dominated the front of the main root hall.
"You need to... stand up there?" asked Harry.
The elf nodded.
Luna crouched down beside Feya. "Do you want me to come with you?"
The elf nodded again and took Luna's hand. Luna had a sudden thought. "You'll be alright in a little while... when it starts you won't be scared anymore."
"Feya knows" said the elf almost inaudibly. The thought did not seem to comfort her. Apparently the idea of dealing with, even addressing, this huge multitude of elves was too much for her and she could barely walk as Luna led her to the centre of the stage.
They both stood there for a while as if unsure what to do. Harry asked one of the passage managers if they could stop porters and visitors coming in and out for a while. He did try to call loudly for quiet but his voice was lost amongst all the other shouting that was taking place.
Suddenly, Luna's voice rang out loud and clear above the tumult. She was stood on the stage with Feya in front of the great red curtains; she had her wand at her throat. "Attention please! It is now time for us to free these poor house-elves and for the horrible curse to be ended. We need your silence for the next few minutes to help drive all the wrackspurts away. If you can be really quiet that would be lovely. Thank you."
Everyone stopped talking and even stopped what they were doing to face the stage; all that is, except for the house-elves themselves who continued to chant at their benches, cursing the world and drawing the attention of all to the seriousness of the situation.
Luna and Feya sat down with their legs dangling over the edge of the stage. They had closed their eyes. Their audience, completely puzzled and unsure of what was taking place, gazed at the tiny figures.
A minute passed with nothing happening and inevitably some murmuring and shuffling of feet began. Harry looked around anxiously at Ginny and grimaced. He desperately wanted to help whatever Luna and Feya were trying to do but had no idea how.
"Go up there, Harry," whispered Ginny. "Everyone knows you... If only to buy some time."
Harry rolled his eyes at Ginny but she was affirming with head gestures he should not wait. Reluctantly, Harry walked slowly to the stage and climbed up beside the tiny figures. He turned to face the crowd feeling like a complete idiot. What did they expect him to do? Burst into flames? Should he say something?
It was at that moment that Harry felt an irresistible impulse to sit down with the other two. It was not a compulsion like the Imperius curse; rather it was more like the feeling he had had when he drank Felix Felicis - Liquid Luck. It was simply an overwhelming sense that it was the right thing to do. Feya was nearest to him so he got down beside the elf, sandwiching her between himself and Luna. As he did so, he saw others in the crowd below him also began to sit - some on chairs; others on the mouldy floor. Soon others followed their example until the action spread to everyone, further and further until it was out of sight in the distant haze.
Harry became aware of a breath of air; the curtains were quietly rising. He wondered how that could be possible. The lever controlling it had been twisted and almost melted by Ron's powerful blasting curse. He turned his head slightly. Behind him was only the blackness of the walls and ceiling. Total silence now fell upon the entire crowd except for the incessant chanting of the elves. Luna and Feya were now absolutely still at his side.
Harry looked out over the crowd. He started to relax, to feel that everything was going to be alright. Over near the door to the living quarters he could see Ginny and the others where he had left them. She, Hermione, Ron, Rolf, and Neville, were all looking at him expectantly.
There was a combined gasp from many in the crowd; they were staring beyond Harry. Harry dare not turn his head. It was not normal fear that held him; it was a strange sense of something he could not define - simply a sense that he ought not to. No, it was not that - it was more a sense that he did not deserve to see. He started to feel very, very small.
Ahead of him the house-elves started to fall silent - not all at once but gradually over the next few minutes. Their twitching arms stopped their macabre movements and relaxed at their sides. Eventually there was such silence as seemed impossible with such a huge crowd. Everyone was still.
Harry became aware of a small, pale blue light behind them; it was approaching Feya. Harry wanted very much to look what it was and as soon as the thought formed he received a reassurance that it was alright. He turned. The little elf's head shone with the blue glow and Luna's face, in some serene sleep, caught it too. Harry wondered if his own face was lit like that; he thought it must be. Yet as the focus of the light settled on Feya's far shoulder he could not quite see what was within it.
Then it seemed, he almost did; he almost had a glimpse. There was a moment when everything seemed to stop and he was held like a babe by some unseen arms. Just for that timeless moment he almost... Then it was gone. He had missed it. He had lost everything. Everything. Tears of empty sorrow poured down his face. He had not been worthy.
The blue light faded. Gravity returned and Harry felt himself pressed down uncomfortably on the dusty stage. He removed his glasses and wiped his face with his sleeves. He was very, very tired - too tired to even feel like the idiot he knew he must seem. The house-elves were looking up and about - some in confusion; some delighted; some weeping and wailing.
"Harry?" It was Luna. "Are you alright?"
She looked at the despair in his face and she saw his failure.
"Was that..." began Harry, but he knew the answer.
"Seraphina. It was Seraphina, Harry," said Luna.
"The fairy from the..."
Luna nodded.
"Kind of puts things in perspective though, doesn't it?" said Harry, not even sure what he meant himself. "I almost had it..."
He had been wiping his glasses with his handkerchief and now put them back on. Feya looked up at him; she had a gentle smile full of compassion and he could see the freshness of that experience in her eyes; in Luna's too. Luna seemed revived now to her full stature and strength; fully her real self as before. Harry looked at them both and felt...
"Do not feel envious, Harry," said Luna. "It wil be alright again you'll see."
Harry looked quickly towards his other friends. He knew they'd be staring at him. Ginny, wonderful Ginny - but now he knew her wonderfulness was part of something more that he could never grasp. There was an emptiness inside him.
"The emptiness will fade, Harry," Luna was watching him carefully, reading his feelings as easily as she read the Quibbler. "It won't hurt anymore."
"But I almost had it, Luna..."
"I know, Harry. I know."
Feya took his hand. He felt some comfort in that. He felt priviliged. This little elf - a house-elf that most folk took little notice of or even despised - she seemed the greatest one present - far, far higher than himself or anyone here. She deserved the Order of Merlin, not he.
"You must never draw attention to Feya, Harry," said Luna, still watching him. "She must continue to work in the scullery and the slop-house."
"They'll... the public will..."
"They have already forgotten her, Harry."
Harry looked around. Kingsley and his men were organizing the groups of creatures and people into columns. Porters and supporters were flowing to and fro through the living quarters' doorway leading to the portal. The centaurs were fretting to be off. The house-elves were being instructed and were being obedient to those instructions. It was as if nothing special had just happened.
"Who will be their master now?" asked Harry.
"House-elves is free elves," said Feya, "completely free - free to serve."
.
Author's Notes
Don't ask me what it means because I just made it up! Works for me. ;)
Still one more chapter to go which I'm still working on.
Comments and reviews are welcome and very encouraging. Thank you. :)
- Hippothestrowl