Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all rights to Harry Potter
Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who has favourited, followed, read and reviewed this story so far or is following me as an author. The support is much appreciated.
A special thanks to Trixuny who is the latest person to have followed my story.
Chapter Forty Three:
The wizards from the three rescue teams arrived on the edge of the wards that surrounded Malfoy Manor.
Jacob stared around the wooded area and nodded, feeling satisfied that they had the right location.
"Any moment now" said Arthur as he walked over to Jacob.
Jacob nodded grimly. "Provided Snape keeps up his end of the bargain and gets us through the wards" he said. He still had his doubts over Severus Snape and Dumbledore's trust of the man.
"If Albus trusts him then so do I" Arthur said seriously.
Jacob bit lip and went back to watching.
The wards shimmered in front of them and then disappeared entirely revealing a long, tall, well clipped hedgerow with a set of ornate, wrought iron gates in the centre of them.
There was the crunch of twig and leaf underfoot and Bill, who was standing nearby with his team, said urgently "there's someone coming!".
Every witch and wizard in the three groups raised their wands and aimed them towards the sound.
The tell-tale silhouette of Severus Snape appeared in the clearing garbed in his usual black robes, his greasy as ever. He looked down his hooked nose at the rescuers as he said in a flat voice "you're here then. Good. You'll find Lupin down in the cellar". He sighed "I suppose you'll want to subdue me to make it look real".
Jacob did feel a bit sorry they had to it but he nodded "I'm afraid so. Albus doesn't want to take the chance of you being suspected".
"It's going to be pinned on Karkaroff" Arthur added. "That way you'll be protected".
Snape nodded. "Make it convincing. If the Dark Lord suspects me I will not live long enough to escape".
Jacob and the others nodded.
"Better get it over with then" Snape said flatly as he brandished his wand. "Dodge" he instructed. The wizards and witches dodged out of the way and the spells sailed past or over them.
"Now" Snape instructed. Several stunning spells were aimed at him and Jacob just registered the irritation on the mans face as he sank to the ground unconscious.
Jacob and the others paused just long enough to ensure he was breathing before moving off towards the gates nearby.
As they moved, Jacob whispered to Arthur "Arthur, you go left". He turned to Bill who was on his right and whispered "Charlie, go right". He fixed his face into a mask of determination and declared "I'll take the centre".
Jacob nodded to the trees on either side of the pathway. "we'll hide behind the trees as the assault team take down the gate guard. Looks to be Karkaroff".
He gestured. "Once the gates taken, we storm through into the grounds, sprint into the manor house, head for the cellar and get Remus to safety".
He held up the portkey. "This will activate for us once one of us touches Remus' arm so even if one or two of us have to hang back, one of us can take Remus out of there and back to Grimmauld Place where Madame Pomfrey should be waiting".
Arthur and Bill nodded and the three men ran to take up their positions.
The assault squad wasted no time in storming towards the gate in a flanking motion designed to trap the three gate guards, all of whom were dressed in black robes with masks obscuring their faces.
Idly, Jacob noted the tall, slender form that could only be Igor Karkaroff while he wondered about the identities of the others.
One of the other guards was short and fat while the other was of Jacobs six foot height and rather slim.
"Now!" Jacob heard Moody shout in a gruff voice. Leading the way, the snarling former Auror moved into a duelling stance and aimed his wand at the guards. Elphias Doge, Hestia Jones and Tonks did likewise.
By the time the guards noticed anything was wrong Moody was shouting "fire!" and the assault team had begun to bombard their opponents with spells.
Karkaroff was soon hit and taken down but not before he'd wounded Hestia and Tonks. This left Moody and Doge to take on the two other guards by themselves. The fight went back and forth as the four wizards seemed evenly matched. Age, however, started to show after some fifteen minutes and Jacob whispered "Sirius!".
Sirius stared over at him from the opposite cluster of trees. Jacob pointed at the duelling pairs and whispered "go help them!".
He wasn't sure Sirius could hear him but thankfully his second in command seemed to get the message Jacob was trying to convey and Jacob nodded in satisfaction as Sirius led his team to the recue of Moody and Doge who both looked relieved to have backup.
Jacob watched as the combined forces of Doge, Moody and Sirius' team made short work of the two standing Death Eaters.
"You can come out now!" Sirius called out from the gate. Jacob led his team from their concealment and over to where the other witches and wizards were standing.
"Nice work" Jacob said appreciatively as he stared down at the prone Death Eaters. He pointed to Karkaroff. "No need to ask who he is" he said as he kicked the former Headmaster.
He gestured to the other two. "Lets remove their masks and see what we have. We'll take them back as prisoners to the Ministry and then to Azkaban".
Sirius grinned as he knelt down and swiped at the masks which dissolved to reveal two men Jacob had rarely seen since the first wizarding war.
"Well, well, well" he said with a grin of his own. "It seems we finally have Nott and Crabbe".
"Not before time either" said the booming voice of Kingsley.
Jacob said to his two subordinate Aurors "secure them and get them to the Ministry. I'll rescue Remus with Charlie while the others secure the manor and deal with the Malfoys, if they're here".
Sirius and Kingsley nodded. Jacob started to walk away but turned just before he entered the gates "and make sure to wipe Karkaroff's memory before he wakes up. Don't want him being able to assure Voldemort of his innocence".
"So ironic that Voldemort will deal with him for us" Sirius muttered as he kicked Karkaroff rather savagely.
Jacob turned, gestured to Charlie and said to the rest of the wizards and witches "you all know what to do".
Charlie followed close behind him as they entered the grounds and kept their wands at the ready for the slightest hint of danger.
Jacob heard many pairs of footsteps and he and Charlie waited as Moody and Doge led a combination of two teams across the courtyard, past a rather ugly looking fountain and up the steps to the front door of the manor.
"Bombarda!" several of them shouted and the great oak door was blasted to pieces on its hinges leaving a great gap in the doorway through which the assault team piled, wands at the ready, their faces keen and alert.
Jacob wished them well as he and Charlie followed on. He had a map of the manor which he consulted. He found that at the end of the corridor there was a door on the right and that door led into the great hall of the house.
"Follow me and keep alert" Jacob instructed Charlie as they ran down the hallway. They passed by several doors set into the oak panelled walls before Jacob held up a hand. Charlie stopped dead still behind him as Jacob said "in here".
He turned to the door opposite a grandfather clock and kicked as hard as he could. The door crashed open slamming against the wall and Jacob peered into the darkened hall.
He scowled into the darkness and whispered "lumos". A bright light appeared at the end of his wand as he stepped cautiously into the room.
It seemed deserted and Jacob had the impression that Voldemort had moved on.
He gestured again and Charlie followed him, wand out and aimed ahead of them.
They were halfway across the hall when a mad sounding, high pitched voice cackled "not so fast Jacob".
Jacob looked over to where the sound had come from next to a suit of armour and his face twisted into a mask of hate "Pettigrew!" he spat furiously.
He whispered to Charlie "get to Remus, now. I'll deal with this lowlife".
"Right" Charlie replied before running across the hall.
"Oh no you don't!" Pettigrew snarled and aimed a curse at the redhead. Thankfully, Charlies Quidditch training had a good effect for he was able to leap out of the way and fire a stinging hex back at the Death Eater which hit Wormtail right in the face and caused him to howl and shriek in pain.
This distraction gave Jacob all the opportunity he needed to fire his own spells at Wormtail and he did so "Flipendo!" he cried. Wormtail was sent flying backwards into the suit of armour. The crashing sound as he impacted with it echoed throughout the hall.
Wormtail was soon back on his feet however and a long running duel erupted.
Jacob eventually heard an explosion like blast from the bottom of the stairs across the hall and grinned as the sound diverted Wormtail's attention "times up rat boy" he said before shouting "incarcerous!".
He gaped in disbelief for as the thick ropes shot from his wand, they hit the far wall and fell to the ground exactly where Wormtail had been standing.
Jacob checked the floor, convinced that the rat must have transformed, but no, there was no sign of him.
"Voldemort must have summoned him" Jacob muttered sullenly. It had been his ambition to capture Wormtail for two years now, ever since the traitors escape from Azkaban.
"Oh well, more important things" he said to himself as he tucked his wand back into its holster and ran across the hall to the stairs.
He pounded down them and walked slowly into the cellar calling out "Charlie? Remus?".
"Over here Mr Potter!" Charlie called out in the dark of the cellar. A light appeared, no doubt from where they were and Jacob headed over to it.
He found Charlie kneeling next to Remus and looking very concerned. The redhead stared up at Jacob "he's in a bad way" he informed the older wizard.
Jacob was shocked by Remus' appearance. The man was covered in cuts and bruises from head to toe, was naked from the waist up and was mumbling incoherently "no, please no".
"What have they done to you Remus?" he questioned without any hope of a response. He wasn't surprised when the other wizard failed to answer.
Jacob turned his head towards the stairs and called out "Expecto Patronum!". A large silver lion burst forth from his wand as he said "tell Sirius Black that we have found Remus and are now leaving".
The lion bounded away across the cellar, up the stairs and out of sight.
Jacob extracted a boot from his jacket pocket, resized it to normal and said to Charlie "grab hold". Charlie grabbed hold of it. Jacob put a hand on it and grabbed hold of Remus arm securely.
Just as Jacob tapped his wand on the boot and a light bloomed around the portkey he heard the sound of wand fire from the hall above them as well as loud and angry shouting. The cellar door blasted off its hinges and they just barely avoided being hit.
Jacob thanked his lucky stars as the portkey took them away at the exact moment that a familiar rat like wizard with fair hair appeared in the doorway and shrieked "no!".
Jacob waved and smiled coldly as they disappeared.
They hit carpet and Jacob simply lay on the floor breathing heavily. He looked up at the ceiling and recognised the familiar white washed ceiling of his and Mandy's Grimmauld Place bedroom on the first floor.
"Oh my word!" he heard a woman exclaim. Madame Pomfrey promptly appeared in his vision and looked down at him "are you all alright?" she asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me" Jacob said as he huffed out a breath, rolled over onto his stomach and pushed himself up to his feet. "Remus is in bad shape. I don't know what's wrong with him but he needs treating".
Madame Pomfrey swallowed hard. Jacob knew she had a soft spot for Remus as she had treated him many times at Hogwarts due to his werewolf condition. "Can you help me get him up to one of the bedrooms?" she asked.
Jacob nodded. "Of course" he said. Just then there were footsteps on the landing. Molly and Mandy both entered the room looking concerned.
"Oh dear!" Molly exclaimed while Jacobs wife just stood in the doorway, hands over her mouth in shock.
"Molly, Mandy, please help us get Remus up to his room" Jacob said.
Molly and Mandy rushed to help and between the four of them, they managed to get Remus out of the bedroom and up the stairs into his own room which he was using while at Grimmauld Place. Jacob fervently hoped that his nephew and daughter weren't watching what was happening as he knew they'd worry even more than normal if they saw Remus in such a state. Especially Lauren.
As the morning of the eighth of August arrived, Harry awoke feeling a niggling sense of worry still. He could not put his finger on why he was worried beyond the obvious worry for Remus and the rescuers.
It was early when Harry awoke. Ron, Lauren, Fred and George were all still fast asleep in the den they had made for themselves using the sofa's.
Harry yawned, stood up, stretched and headed on out of the living room and on down to the basement kitchen.
As he entered the kitchen he could smell the delicious waft of eggs and bacon being fried. His stomach rumbled loudly. He crossed the kitchen to the long and wide dining table in its centre and said "morning Aunt Mandy" with a yawn as he sat down.
"Morning Harry love" his aunt replied, turning to face him for a moment before turning back to her task. Harry frowned. She had been smiling. No one who was as worried as she had been last night would be smiling. 'Unless...'. Harry's thought trailed off and he poured himself a glass of orange juice as he asked "how did the rescue go?".
His aunt didn't respond immediately. Instead, she finished making the bacon and eggs, set some out on a plate for her, some on a plate for Harry and the rest, no doubt, was for Lauren when she came down.
Speaking of which, Mandy had just opened her mouth to speak when Harry's equally yawning, equally tousle-haired cousin entered the kitchen and mumbled "morning Mum, morning Harry".
Yawning, she sat down next to Harry and gratefully took a plate of bacon and eggs before setting one next to Harry and then began tucking in straight away.
"How did the rescue go?" she asked through a mouthful of egg and bacon.
"Don't speak with your mouth full please Lauren" her mum said in exasperation. Lauren swallowed her food, said "sorry Mum" and then asked again.
Mandy smiled at the pair of them. "The rescue teams did it. They got Remus back from the manor safe and sound. What's more, they've managed to capture Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy and detain them for wrongful imprisonment".
"So they'll go to Azkaban?" Lauren asked hopefully even as Harry asked "what about Wormtail?".
Mandy nodded. "Not for long though sadly. The penalty for wrongful imprisonment is much less than for committing torture, murder or ownership of dark objects. They'll be out by the end of the year".
"That's not right!". Lauren was furious "they know all about Remus being there! they let him be tortured and did nothing".
Mandy sighed. "I'm afraid the law very often is not right in the wizarding world darling".
Lauren sat back in her chair and glared at the wall behind Mandy, her arms folded.
"Wait a minute, you didn't mention Wormtail" Harry said.
Mandy sighed again and said "he got away Harry. By the time two of teams had secured the manor along with Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, Wormtail had already vanished. No doubt called away by his Master to safety".
Harry shook his head "I'll make him pay one day" he said hotly "I swear, no matter how long it takes, that rat will pay for what he did to my parents and what he allowed Voldemort to do to Remus".
"If Remus is here, does that mean we can see him?" Lauren enquired.
Mandy reached across the table and squeezed her daughters hand. "I know you both want to see him for yourselves, make sure he's alright but he needs time to heal. He was hurt very badly and it'll be some time before he's properly awake".
"How long?" Harry asked, knowing he sounded a bit petulant but not caring.
"I'd say three days" Mandy said after a pause.
Three days dragged by and it was the longest three days of Harry's life. He was sure his cousin felt the same way. They had tried to keep occupied with games of wizards chess, reading up on the school books for next year, games of exploding snap and working on their spell work, all with the others.
Harry still missed Daphne like crazy and to a lesser extent missed Astoria too. He corresponded regularly with his girlfriend, asking how she and Astoria were. How their parents were and reiterated how much he loved and missed her.
Daphne's letters in turn, were filled with declarations of her love and support and wishes they could see each other soon. Harry's heart ached at not being able to see her but he knew that it was only right as it kept Daphne and her family safe for the time being, not having full contact with him.
The eleventh of August, a Friday, rolled around and that morning brought the news Harry and Lauren had been hoping to hear for days as Sirius entered the kitchen, smiling for the first time since Remus had been taken. The curly haired wizard looked at Harry and Lauren before his face split into a grin "he's awake and he's asking for you both" he informed the cousins.
Harry and Lauren exchanged grins and stood up so fast their chairs fell over with a loud clatter on the stone floor. With embarrassed smiles, they righted them before turning and tearing up the stairs, out of the kitchen and into the hallway.
The loud noise from the kitchen had awoken the portrait of Sirius' mother and they could hear Sirius grumbling as he ran up to the hallway to close the hangings but they didn't care. Remus was awake and that was all that mattered to the two of them in that moment.
Even the mutterings of Kreacher, who the encountered on the first floor landing, could not dissipate their good moods. They ran past him on their way up to the second floor and Harry shouted "cheer up Kreacher!".
Once on the second floor landing, the two of them were a bit calmer, knowing that Remus likely wasn't one hundred per cent healed and the two cousins had no desire to cause a relapse.
Thus they approached his bedroom door quietly, almost cautiously. Harry raised a hand to knock on the door but a voice from inside called out in tired amusement "I already know its you two". The voice added "I could hear you coming up the stairs".
Harry and Lauren grinned and Harry grasped the door handle, turned it and led the way into the bedroom.
They found Remus sat on top of his covers, a book in his lap which was open. The cover read: "The Lord of The Rings The Fellowship of The Ring by J.R.R Tolkien". Harry grinned, recognising the book he'd got Remus last Christmas saying that he was sure the man would enjoy it.
"Remus" was all Harry could think to say. He felt so relieved.
"Come here you two" Remus said with a smile.
The two of them crossed the room and walked into his outstretched arms as the wizard hugged them tightly.
It all happened so quickly. Remus had released the hug and Harry and Lauren were sat next to him. Harry sat on a chair and Lauren on the bed next to Remus.
"Harry Potter must die". Harry turned to face Remus. He was in shock. That wasn't the voice of Remus Lupin. It was the familiar voice of Voldemort. It was hard and cruel without an ounce of pity.
Remus' eyes flashed a dark red as he raised his wand. Harry could see that Remus' left hand had come up. Clearly, Remus consciousness was trying to fight whatever this was.
The battle was soon lost however as Remus aimed his wand at Harry and called out in Voldemort's voice "Avada Kedavra!".
Using his finely tuned flying reflexes, Harry managed to dive out of the way just in time as the killing curse sailed past him and slammed into the bedroom door blowing it off its hinges and caused splinters of wood and shards of plaster to flying in all directions.
By now, Lauren had taken the chance to leap on Remus and was grapping with her godfather for the wand. "Uncle Remus this isn't you!" she shrieked "stop! that's Harry you're attacking! stop!".
Her words were to no avail as Remus shrugged her off hard and aimed again at Harry. Stuck up against the wall there was nowhere for Harry to go and he shut his eyes knowing the end had come.
"I heard wand fire what's...bloody hell!". Harry heard Sirius' voice and nearly fainted in relief.
"Fascinavit non obedire veritati somnum!" Sirius roared. The spell hit the unsuspecting Remus right in the face. The man dropped his wand to the floor with a thud and fell back against the pillows snoring away.
Harry was in shock. He didn't know what to say and it felt like his legs wouldn't move. After a time, he regained his voice and said shakily "S...S...Sirius, what...why did he do that?".
Sirius crossed over to him, knelt down and drew him into a fierce hug sighing heavily "I don't know Harry". His godfather shook his head "I just don't know".
Sirius pulled away after a few minutes and went over to Lauren who was staring down at her godfather. Harry could see that she too was in shock and he overcame his own shock to get up and walk over to her. "Are you alright Lauren?" Sirius asked.
Lauren swallowed hard. "I will be" she said shakily "I wasn't the one he was targeting. Why would Remus attack Harry like that?".
Sirius was silent for a moment. "I don't know" he said at length "but those red eyes and that voice, I don't believe that was him. Someone was controlling him".
"But...".
"I'm sorry Harry, I won't know any more until I've consulted with Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey". Sirius squeezed Harry's arm and then Lauren's before leading them from the room.
Sirius turned around once they were safely out, shook his head unable to believe that he had to do this to his best friend and then he performed the spells. Spells to tie roped like binds around Remus' body, his arms and legs. Spells to keep him asleep and spells to secure the room to prevent the mans escape.
Sirius had no idea if whatever or whoever was controlling Remus was still inside him but he was not going to take any chances with it. His godson, one of the people he cared about and loved even more than Remus, had been put in danger once and he wasn't going to let it happen again.
"He did what?!" Jacob roared loudly as he stood up from the kitchen table.
Sirius winced at the raised voice and cleared his throat. Jacob glared at him. "It wasn't his fault Jacob" he said, feeling the need to defend his best friend.
"What do you mean?" Jacob asked as his anger deflated a touch.
Sirius sighed and decided to begin from the start. "When I got onto the landing I heard wand fire from Remus' bedroom so I went to investigate. Entering the room, I found Harry up against the wall and Lauren wrestling with Remus for control of the wand".
Sirius shuddered as he thought back on. "His eyes Jacob..." he shook his head and licked his lips which were suddenly very dry "his eyes were...they were red. Not his normal green at all. He seemed to be in a trance of some kind".
"Are you saying he was..." Jacob paused casting around for the right word. "Possessed?" he settled on eventually sounding disbelieving.
Sirius nodded and replied "I get how crazy it sounds but think about Jacob. Voldemort had Remus at his mercy for several days. It is obvious he was tortured. I think Voldemort tortured Remus until he broke and Voldemort was able to infiltrate his mind".
Jacob turned pale and slumped back down into his chair. His voice was hoarse as he said "if Remus is possessed what can we do to save him?".
Sirius cast his eyes down and muttered "I wish I knew Jacob". He looked up at the black haired wizard and said "I need to contact Albus and inform him of this. He knows more about dark magic than anyone else. He's the only hope we have".
Jacob nodded. "I'll firecall him".
Jacob headed over to the fireplace, picked up a pinch of floo powder, lit a fire and threw the powder down into the grate as he thought hard about who he needed to speak to.
He placed his head in the fire as it crackled around him and felt the familiar odd sensation as his head seemed to spin around and around while the rest of him stayed as it was.
After some time, his head stopped spinning and he found himself staring at the office of the Headmaster of Hogwarts.
He grimly looked up at the desk and saw to his great relief that Dumbledore was hard at work poring over several pieces of parchment.
He tried several times to get the old wizards attention but it seemed that the wizard was deep in thought.
"Albus!" he eventually called out so loudly that he was sure he was shouting.
Dumbledore turned and smiled over his half-moon spectacles. "Ah Jacob I'm glad to see you!. I take it your call means that Remus is awake".
Dumbledore must have noticed the grim look on Jacobs face for he asked "what has happened? I assume it is quite serious for such a cheerful man as yourself to be upset".
Jacob knew it would be best to come straight out with it so he said "Remus tried to kill Harry this morning".
The shock was so great that Dumbledore dropped his quill and it fluttered noiselessly to the floor.
The old wizard stood up and said only thing. "I'll be there soon".
Jacob sighed internally with relief and projected that relief into his voice as he said "thank you Albus".
Dumbledore nodded acknowledgement as he said "I shall bring Poppy with me. She was due to call this afternoon in any case to check up on Remus and I'm sure she'll want to help sort out this problem".
Jacob smiled a strained smile as he replied "thank you again Albus. We'll wait for you in the kitchen".
He removed his head from Dumbledore's fireplace and felt his head return to normal as he stepped back from the Grimmauld Place fireplace. He stood up, turned around and saw that his wife was in the kitchen and was being comforted by Molly. Both looked distraught but his wife seemed to be hysterical, sobbing at a high volume. It didn't surprise him for they both thought of Remus as their best friend and Harry as the son they had never had.
Jacob crossed the kitchen in a few strides and grasped his wife by the shoulders. Molly let go of her and squeezed Jacobs shoulder in a gesture of support as she went to sit down at the kitchen table. Jacob nodded his gratitude as he said to his wife "there, there love, Albus and Poppy will be here soon and then we can find out why this has happened and hopefully fix this mess".
"I never thought that he..." Mandy sniffled "...he of all people would try to hurt our children".
Jacob closed his eyes for a moment to blink back the tears before he replied "it wasn't him my love, not really. Sirius believes he was possessed. Possessed by...Voldemort".
That single word, Voldemort made Molly and Mandy both stare at him in shock. "But...how? when?".
Mandy seemed bewildered. Molly looked just as confused.
Jacob shook his head. "I know no more than you two ladies" he said simply "all I know is what Sirius told me".
He looked around the kitchen. "Speaking of, where is he?".
Mandy sniffled again "he's comforting Harry and Lauren and he's explaining what happened to Ron, Fred, George and Ginny".
Jacob breathed a sigh of relief feeling glad that his children were in safe hands for the time being.
Just as he was about to speak again, the fireplace flared up and out stepped the tall, slender, blue robed form of Professor Albus Dumbledore.
He was followed a few seconds later by the usually stern face but now much more worried Madame Pomfrey. In her hands she held an examination bag.
"Hello to you all" Dumbledore said politely as Madame Pomfrey also greeted them. The white bearded wizard then said "please take us to Remus".