72
The Dementors drew back like a receding wave, their gloom fragmenting as sunlight shot through the mist and rolled over the valley in their wake. In bright daylight, the Patronuses were hard to see, little more than pale ghosts against the snow, yet their presence left the little circle of survivors feeling relieved and heartened.
Still, Severus regarded the valley warily, noting the blackened stretch where his younger self had used Fiendfyre, and another charred expanse not far from where they stood now, still smoking. Here and there, a few stray Inferi were staggering toward the cover of trees, shying away from the sunlight; the Dark Lord's conjured storm did not reach this far out into the valley, although it still hung ominously above the mountain where he had carved out the Death Eaters' cave.
Aside from the Inferi and the slow climb of smoke into the sky, there was no movement. If there were any Death Eaters left in fighting condition, they were hiding, or else back at the cave. Severus cast a Homenum Revelio and waited in growing satisfaction as it revealed nothing - nothing, that is, until it swept over two inert forms at the edge of the nearer Fiendfyre site.
"That's Malfoy and another," Harry said, clearly having noticed what he was doing. "Alice got them. We glued their mouths shut so the Dementors couldn't Kiss them."
"Kind of you," Severus said. He and Savage hadn't bothered to do the same for Bellatrix Lestrange or Barty Crouch, Jr. But he knew Bellatrix, at least, had escaped. "Has anyone seen Barty Crouch - Jr. or Sr.?"
"Both," his younger self said. "They killed each other."
"That's convenient," Ginny muttered. "And we got Bellatrix… Who does that leave?"
"Savage and I paralyzed two Death Eaters and concealed them at the base of the mountain," Severus said. "And we left Umbridge some distance from here. She is likely still there."
Ginny made a face. Lily said quietly, "Are there any others?"
"Rodolphus Lestrange is dead," Severus said. He felt a pointed nudge at his ankle, and added, "Fiend's doing."
"I think I killed some," his younger self said. "But I'm not sure who. It happened too fast."
Severus glanced from face to face - Lily, pregnant, Savage, now unconscious, all of them wounded to some degree or other - then turned to give the valley another quick survey. The Dementors had retreated to their previous position on the mountain's far side. The Inferi, those that were left, had taken cover. The valley was still.
"Accio brooms!" he said, aloud for the benefit of his companions.
From various points across the valley - those sections that hadn't been burned - a handful of brooms rose up from the snow and soared toward them. Half were unusable, but three were still in good condition.
"These are for Lily and two companions," Severus said.
"Can't you get rid of whatever's stopping her from Apparating?" Potter asked.
Severus raised an eyebrow, glancing at Lily, who looked alarmed. There was a moment's silence; Severus could see that several of those present knew Lily was pregnant, but that Lily, for whatever reason, hadn't told her husband.
"Not at present," Severus said, when the silence began to stretch and it became obvious Lily wasn't going to say anything. Black looked like he was desperate to spit it out. "It will not last forever, but until then it would be safer to take her by broom."
"All right," James said. "Sirius and I can take her."
Lily gave Severus a grateful look, which he acknowledged only with a glance.
"Savage needs to be taken to St. Mungo's," he said. "She is not so severely injured that she cannot be Apparated, we merely need to reach the edge of the wards."
"They end at that ridge there," Ginny said, pointing. "I flew over them earlier. I can take her."
"You won't have a broom to get her that far," Severus said.
"We'll fly over," Black said. "We can carry the stretcher under the brooms, then let you Apparate her once we cross the wards."
Ginny nodded. "All right, let's get her strapped in."
"And us?" Hermione asked, in an apprehensive tone. Severus knew she knew what he was going to say.
"We will collect as many of the living Death Eaters as we can find. At the very least, we can collect those whose locations we know." He could see the worry in their faces, and didn't blame them. They had no way of knowing when the Dark Lord would return, and as long as they were within his wards, they were in danger.
"I realize there is a risk," he said. "And I will not force you to -"
"Don't be stupid," Harry said, at the same moment Hermione said, "Don't be ridiculous."
"We shouldn't leave them," his younger self added. "Umbridge especially - with everything she knows about the marriage law, we need to take her back. We need to get that law overturned as soon as possible," he finished, with a quick glance toward Lily.
"Has anyone seen Rookwood?" Hermione asked.
"I think he might be the one with Malfoy," Harry said. "But it was hard to tell. His face was burned."
"Very well. We'll collect those two, then the two by the mountain, then Umbridge. Agreed?"
They all nodded. No one suggested splitting up, and Severus would have forbidden it if they did. "We'll take Alice with us," he said. "As an Auror, she has the authority to make the arrests."
Alice nodded. Black and Ginny had finished strapping Savage to two broomsticks, and James and Lily were already preparing to mount the third.
"Where do we meet afterward?" Alice asked. "That tent?"
"No, let's meet at our place," Lily said. "There's more room, and we can call more of the Order."
They all agreed, and Severus watched Black, Potter, Ginny, and Lily climb onto the three brooms and fly away, Savage dangling beneath them.
"Let's go," Alice said, taking off at a run toward the two nearest Death Eaters. The others followed, although it immediately became obvious that his younger self was in no condition to be running. And neither was Severus himself.
"You both should have gone to St. Mungo's," Alice said, pausing to frown at them. "You, especially, Prince."
Severus couldn't argue with her. In the elation of the Dementors' departure, he had been able to ignore his injuries, but the pain had slammed into him again as soon as he made the colossally stupid decision to try running. Breathing was agonizing; speaking was out of the question.
"Here," Hermione said. "I can help. Harry, Alice -"
"We'll get these two," Harry assured her, and the two of them resumed their sprint to the Death Eaters.
Severus watched first in wariness and then in increasing wonder as Hermione Granger, once the most annoying student in his class, began casting diagnostic charms and then started repairing his ribs with quick, precise jabs of her wand. It was fortunate that his wounds were nonmagical; they had almost entirely been caused by his fall. The healing spells required were relatively simple, yet he hadn't known the girl had applied herself to learning them.
He should have known, though. When had Hermione Granger ever failed to learn something useful? Particularly in these past months, in the aftermath of the war. She had always studied hard, but he suspected she had devoted every moment of the free time she had gained by not returning to Hogwarts to further study, in addition to their research on the gates. No doubt her friends were horrified.
"Acceptable," he said, when the last of his ribs had been repaired and the pain, although not vanished, was easily tolerable.
Hermione flashed him a wide grin, far from the indignant expression he had been aiming to elicit. "I'm sure I'll improve with practice, sir."
"No doubt, Miss Granger."
There was a strange warmth between them, not unlike the unmistakable fondness the Weasley girl kept demonstrating, or the trust and respect the Boy Who Lived no longer hesitated to show.
"Hey," Harry said, jogging toward them. Behind him, they could see Alice levitating two inert and presumable paralyzed forms. Harry was holding something silvery in his hands. "Look what I found! Is this one mine?"
Severus looked down at himself, at the shreds of cloth that remained of his torn robes. The boy's Cloak had been in his pocket. "In all likelihood."
"Lucky I found it," he said. "We're pretty sure that is Rookwood. He's in bad shape, though. I think the Fiendfyre got him."
"And Malfoy?" his younger self asked.
"He's mostly fine," Harry said. "Alice hit him with a Stinging Jinx for good measure. You look better," he added, glancing back at the older Severus.
"Miss Granger has evidently dedicated herself to the study of healing, in addition to every other field known to wizardkind."
"Oh, please," she muttered. "You know perfectly well I never dedicated myself to Divination."
They were all grinning when Alice reached them, an unconscious Rookwood and a conscious but heavily stung Malfoy hovering on either side of her. "Two down," she said.
Severus cast another cautious glance around the valley, but there were no threats to be seen. "Let us proceed."
They managed to retrieve Umbridge, still bound and gagged, but the two Death Eaters at the mountain's base had been uncovered and Kissed, and they found no others - none living, at least. Severus and his younger self could both have used a Healer, but admitting themselves into St. Mungo's was out of the question given their shared identity, so it was Harry and Hermione who took Rookwood to St. Mungo's, and Alice who took Malfoy and Umbridge to the Ministry holding cells, leaving Severus and his younger self to Apparate to the Potters' empty home.
They had been admitted through the wards at the last Order meeting, and nothing but politeness could prevent them from Apparating to the doorstep and walking through the front door now. Neither of them was feeling particularly polite. Yet Severus wished, almost as soon as they were inside, that they had waited at the tent for a while before coming here. It would be hours before the Potters returned, after all. The awkwardness of waiting in their home was acute.
The home itself was largely empty; they clearly hadn't settled in much since the wedding, and he could hardly blame them. Still, little touches here and there caught his eye: photographs, a vase with flowers, a pile of unwashed dishes in the sink, a cat that slunk out to look at them, then slunk away again. His younger self took it all in with a strange, almost disbelieving expression, before turning to look at him.
"It's hard to imagine. This kind of life. They have a nice home. They'll have a baby soon."
"Very normal," Severus agreed. "Ginny Weasley once asked me if I only liked Lily because she was a girl."
The younger Severus snorted. "A valid question, probably."
"You seem to have a great deal more in common with Miss Granger."
He had both the satisfaction and the embarrassment of seeing his younger self blush. Yet he was also clearly fighting a smile, and there was happiness in his eyes, not the endless anguished angst of longing for Lily.
Severus tried to hide his astonishment. "Have you discussed it with her?"
The smile almost broke free. "We didn't discuss it, no."
Confusion and embarrassment, horror and amusement all collided within him. "You kissed her?"
There was the smile. Severus felt his own face heat. "You realize she was a thorn in my side for years? Five-foot essays, whispering every answer to her friends -"
"- setting you on fire, yes, I know."
"And now… Merlin's beard." Severus pinched the bridge of his nose.
His younger self rolled his eyes. "Don't pretend you don't like her. I know you approve."
"Approve…" He let out a shaky laugh, then felt it grow into something wilder. Hysterical tears sprung to his eyes. "Approve… Alternate realities. Past selves. Hermione Granger kissing me at nineteen. This must be a dream."
The door behind them opened, and Ginny Weasley strolled in, her nose red from the cold. "I just left Savage. She's awake, they say she'll be all right. St. Mungo's is in chaos, though, after Azkaban…"
That was enough to sober both Severuses, but Ginny added, "Did I hear you laughing just now?"
"It was nothing. A small matter."
"Funny," she said. "I thought I heard you say Hermione kissed Severus." She shrugged, her expression carefully controlled. "Guess it must've been a dream."
"Yes, it must have," Severus said, a little sharply. The last thing he wanted was another conversation with Ginny Weasley on this subject. "You said St. Mungo's is in chaos? Could you be more specific?"
Her expression became solemn. "They have a ward set aside for all the people who were Kissed. I don't think they've decided what to do with them. And there are a lot of people injured - mostly Order members and Aurors. I saw Dumbledore running around, but by the time I tried to call out to him he was gone. Savage said she'll try to talk to him. The Healers want her staying in bed, but almost the entire Auror force has been admitted, so I think she'll be able to persuade them to let her go early. I can't imagine what state the Ministry's in."
"Hopefully Alice can tell us," Severus said. "In the meantime, are any of you still in possession of your coins?"
"I have one. I think it might be yours, Ginny," his younger self said.
"Who are we contacting?" she asked, taking the fake Galleon. "The Order?"
"Dumbledore. The Order is too scattered. Those coins could be anywhere. I wouldn't want Miss Granger's defenses to paralyze some unwitting Healer."
"Good thinking," Ginny agreed. "Message?"
"'Meet at Potters', when possible.'"
"Done," Ginny said, after a moment.
"Good. Now, I suppose there is nothing to do but wait."
"I say we take a nap," Ginny said, waving her wand and conjuring three obnoxiously red sleeping bags in the middle of the sitting room floor.
Severus glanced at his younger self, who nodded, the exhaustion seeming to strike him in that very moment. Severus felt the same; he would have preferred to take a few healing draughts first, but nothing in this world or any other could have possessed him to drink any potion in James Potter's house.
"Sleep tight," Ginny said, already ensconced in her bag, her red hair clashing horribly with the scarlet surrounding her.
Without any further hesitation, the Severuses followed suit.
It was relatively easy for Savage to convince the Healers she needed to be released from their care. They knew well how many Aurors had been injured in the attack on Azkaban, and any Auror who wasn't completely disabled was needed. There were other witches and wizards being healed, as well, who she could only assume were members of Dumbledore's secret Order of the Phoenix. It could not be so secret now. It was obvious which patients had been in a battle, and with St. Mungo's in disarray, very few of them had the privacy to keep that fact concealed.
Savage noted the faces she saw, both Auror and Order member, and felt grim solemnity as well as grief steal through her when she glanced into the ward of Kiss victims. She wondered where they were keeping the dead.
But before she could find a Healer to ask, she heard a gruff, familiar voice calling her name.
"Moody," she said, as he limped toward her, his wooden leg clunking on the floor, a thick bandage wrapped around his head.
"Where've you been?" he growled.
"Tailing Umbridge. Then Prince showed up, and we found Voldemort's hideout -"
"You what?"
"He wasn't there, but his Death Eaters were. They had taken hostages from Azkaban - Severus Snape, Lily Potter, and Crouch -"
"Crouch?"
"Yes," she said, in a hard voice. "He's part of the reason I'm here. But the Dementors arrived and we lost him -"
"You and Prince?"
"Yes, and he brought a number of teenagers with him." She scowled.
"Granger and those Peverells?"
"Yes, and James Potter and Sirius Black. Alice Longbottom was there as well."
"Where are they now?"
"Ginny Peverell brought me here. I was unconscious at the time, but she waited until I woke to tell me what happened. Potter and Black are escorting Lily to safety. The rest remained to round up whatever Death Eaters they could find."
"And where is this hideout?"
"Savage!"
Savage and Moody both turned. Harry Peverell and Hermione Granger were weaving their way through the crowded corridor toward them.
"You're all right?" Hermione said, glancing at Savage's bandages.
"Well enough. Who did you find?"
"We just brought in Rookwood. The Healers confirmed it's him, they've got him strapped down to make sure he doesn't escape."
"He needs a guard," Moody growled.
"He doesn't, really," Hermione said. "They're not sure he'll survive. He got hit with Fiendfyre."
"Whose Fiendfyre?"
"We're not sure. It might have been Barty Crouch's - Jr., that is."
"And Crouch, Sr.? Did you see him?"
"Severus said they killed each other - the Crouches."
Savage and Moody exchanged a glance. Hermione said, "We got Umbridge and Malfoy as well, Alice is taking them to the Ministry. We're hoping Umbridge will be enough to overturn the marriage law even if Rookwood doesn't make it -"
"She'd damn well better be. You lit a fire with that Skeeter interview. I just passed the Obstetrics ward, there was a full-fledged riot down there. Women worried they're going to miscarry if the baby doesn't have enough magic, worried the Ministry's stealing their magic, worried Voldemort's going to steal their babies, some women just mad as hell they're pregnant in the first place - it's exactly what these bastards deserve," he added with satisfaction.
"Good," Hermione said. "Now if we can just get Umbridge in front of the Wizengamot -"
"I'm not sure that will be their first priority," Savage said, watching a Healer run past covered in blood, screaming for more Blood Replenisher.
"Well, it'll need to be soon," Hermione said. She glanced at Moody. "There's been a, er, complication, with the, er -" She glanced at Savage. "Well, with one of the couples the rings have been linked to."
Savage had already guessed they were circumventing the rings' requirements, and she was far more impressed than surprised. "So that's how you did it."
"Yes," Hermione said. "But as I said, there's been a complication -"
"What kind of complication?"
"The kind that started that riot down in Obstetrics," Harry said.
"Damn," Moody said. "I mean, congratulations to them, I suppose. Which is it?"
"Er… I think she'd like to keep it a secret."
Moody snorted. "Good luck with that, while she's linked to everyone. Your ring's not glowing," he added, looking at Hermione's hand, "so I guess I know who it is."
So there were only two couples involved, Savage deduced. She was curious, but suspected asking wouldn't do any good. She knew Moody was a part of Dumbledore's Order, and she didn't mind so long as his interests didn't conflict. In this case, of course, they did, but she would never stand in the way of circumventing this wretched law.
"We need to find Dumbledore," Harry said, looking around. "I thought I heard someone say he's here."
"He is," Moody said. "Here. Expecto Patronum! Should be easier than trying to find him in this mess. Albus, meet us by the Brinwood Bonebreak Ward."
His eagle Patronus swept away, and the four of them backed against the wall of the corridor to wait. For Moody's benefit, Harry recounted in more detail what had happened, the Death Eaters they had confirmed dead, those they hadn't found, and the disturbing but admittedly convenient fact that Voldemort had not been present.
Savage watched him as he spoke, noting the similarities to James Potter, and, yes, to Lily Potter as well. If her theory about Prince was correct, then would that make this boy the Potters' son?
But how was it possible? She knew the basics of the rules of time travel, if not all the intricacies. She knew what was and was not allowed. Or at least, what had been published as being not allowed. But perhaps those texts had been censored. Or perhaps future developments had changed the matter. Somehow, in some way, these people had traveled back to her time.
At least, she was almost certain that was the case.
Which meant Prince was… Snape. It was a strange thought. That boy she'd taken to Azkaban had grown into the man who now occupied so many of her thoughts. The man who had saved her more than once. Did he remember that she had taken him to Azkaban, and left him there?
"There he is," Hermione said, and Savage almost expected to see Prince. But no, there was Dumbledore striding toward them, his robes stained and tattered, but his figure no less imposing for all that.
He came to a halt before them. "Auror Moody, Auror Savage. And Miss Granger and Mr. Peverell." If he was skeptical of that last name, he didn't show it. Without glancing at the chaos around them, he waved his wand at it, muffling the noise and, Savage suspected, preventing them from being overheard.
Quickly, Moody summarized what Savage and Harry had told him. "Umbridge and Malfoy should be at the Ministry by now. If you can get Umbridge to confess -"
"Leave it to me," Dumbledore said. "The Wizengamot is already discussing the deactivation of the rings. I suspect her testimony will be the final push necessary to cement the decision."
He glanced at Savage. He had already given her a piercing look when Moody mentioned tricking the rings, but she had not reacted and evidently he had determined that she could be trusted. "We will be meeting at the Potters' home tonight. Auror Savage, if you would like to join us, you would be welcome." His face was grim. "Our numbers have been significantly depleted, I am afraid."
"As have ours," she said. "I think it would be wise to pool our resources."
"Excellent. Then I shall meet you there. At nine o'clock, if I can, but later if necessary. In the meantime, Auror Savage, there are two Death Eaters who were admitted to St. Mungo's with injuries, but who are well enough to be transferred to the Ministry holding cells now. If you could assist me -"
"Of course."
"And Alastor, many of the other injured prisoners are now well enough to be returned to Azkaban. If you could organize the effort - and perhaps delay the return of those who were incarcerated for breaking the marriage law -"
"I've got it."
"I will attempt to secure a pardon for all of them before this evening. I cannot guarantee it, but I shall do my best. Mr. Peverell, Miss Granger - we have many allies in this facility, most too wounded to defend themselves. Until we are certain no Death Eaters have escaped -"
"We'll patrol the hospital," Harry said immediately.
"You have my thanks." He nodded his head in farewell. "Until tonight, then. Auror Savage?"
Savage fell into step beside him, watching how the crowd seemed to part for him despite the urgency all around them. Healers were running in every direction, calling for more potions or for assistance. Patients in various states were being herded here and there, some on stretchers, some walking around with dazed looks on their faces. Every once in a while, they passed someone who had clearly been admitted for an unrelated cause, looking around guiltily as they saw how desperate the other patients' needs were. Savage had thought St. Mungo's was overwhelmed after the massacre at Godric's Hollow, but this was even worse.
Here and there, Dumbledore spoke to someone they passed, sometimes a Healer, sometimes a patient, sometimes a Ministry worker. A few times he divulged the meeting time and location, always in a lowered voice. Savage wondered what this meeting would involve; would she be expected to join the Order? Surely not. Under these circumstances, she hoped they could work together merely as allies.
"Here we are," Dumbledore said.
Savage recognized both of the Death Eaters - Alecto Carrow, who had been captured at Godric's Hollow, and Victor Crabbe, who had been arrested at one of the church attacks. They both looked furious to have been recaptured.
"Back to Azkaban, is it?" Carrow asked, fighting against her bindings.
"To the Ministry first," Savage replied. "You'll be questioned again."
Crabbe spat on the floor. "You mean you know you can't keep us in Azkaban."
"Didn't make it far, though, did you?" Savage said. "Silencio!"
They both glared at her, but she ignored them, paralyzing and levitating them as she had done to Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch, Jr. Prince had been guarding her then; now it was Dumbledore, and she felt no anxiety as he guided her through the hospital to the Apparation point.
Moments later, they were at the Ministry, striding through the Atrium and security. The Ministry was just as busy as St. Mungo's, though involving slightly less bloodshed, yet Dumbledore's presence, even more than Savage's Auror status, earned them a place on the first lift down. As the grates were closing, someone in the crowd beyond shot a hex at the Death Eaters. Savage flicked it away, but nothing could block the sheer fury she felt radiating from the wizards outside. Obviously word of the casualties at Azkaban had spread.
Savage had fully expected the Auror headquarters to be quiet, given their losses and the certainty that most of the remaining staff were out in the field, but the dead silence that met them when the lift jolted to a halt had her skin pricking with the sense that something was wrong. She exchanged a glance with Dumbledore, whose tense gaze confirmed the same. With wands raised, they stepped out into the corridor, Savage bringing the Death Eaters along with them.
Silence. Dead silence. But there, on the floor, was one body - not an Auror, but one of their clerks. There was no blood, and Savage was certain he had been struck with the Killing Curse.
She stowed the prisoners in an office and secured it, then followed Dumbledore down the corridor, glancing into offices and the open suite of cubicles, finding no one, and no further trace of an intruder.
Then, footsteps - Savage spun back toward the suite they had just passed, wand raised, while Dumbledore stood poised and silent beside her. The footfalls came quickly, and seconds later a figure burst out of the door.
"Alice," Dumbledore said.
She looked startled, then relieved. "Come quickly - you should both see -"
They followed her without hesitation, past the cubicles and into the storage room beyond. The storage clerk was lying on the floor, dead like the other. The rows and rows of shelves beyond her had been ransacked.
"Someone was looking for something," Alice said. "It's the worst back here." She led them through the rows of shelves.
"This is what we confiscated from Malfoy's house," Savage said, surveying the boxes and crates that had been blasted apart. "When we arrested him a few months ago."
If she hadn't been looking at Dumbledore as she said it, she would have missed the slight shift in his expression, lasting barely half a second.
"You know what they were looking for," she said sharply.
"I suspect," he said. "Just as I suspect that it was not 'they,' but 'he.'"
"He - you can't mean -"
"Lord Voldemort, yes. I suspect this was his work. I doubt he would have trusted this search to anyone else."
"But he couldn't have just walked into the Ministry! Could he?" Alice asked, doubtfully.
"It is possible. Particularly in the current chaos… if he had taken care to conceal himself… Perhaps."
Alice and Savage looked at each other, alarmed. "What was he looking for?"
"Something very precious to him," Dumbledore said. "Something, I am happy to say, that has already been destroyed."
Savage gazed at him suspiciously, annoyed by his vagueness, and wondering if he was implying that he - or more likely Moody - had also looted Malfoy's confiscated property.
"However," Dumbledore said, "this means that Lord Voldemort is likely now aware of one of our most vital plans against him. At the very least, he is aware that we removed this object from Malfoy's property, and that its true nature might have been discovered."
"And what -"
"I cannot tell you. Not at this moment. Alice, I believe you brought both Dolores Umbridge and Lucius Malfoy with you?"
"Yeah, they're in the cells," she said. "Once I realized the intruder was gone, I locked them up before I came back here to look over this." She gestured at the wreckage of Malfoy's belongings.
"Good," Dumbledore said. "I need to speak with both of them immediately. Auror Savage, I know you have duties to attend to -"
"Yes."
"- but if you can find Aurors to spare, send a contingent to Hogwarts. Lord Voldemort may attempt to infiltrate the school. The wards are powerful enough that his attempt should not be successful, but nonetheless, a patrol around the school - and Hogsmeade as well - would be wise."
"Very well," Savage agreed, frustrated with his continued vagueness, but hardly willing to deny protection to children.
"I shall alert Deputy Headmistress McGonagall that she can expect you. You may also find support in Hogsmeade. Tell your Aurors to visit the Hog's Head."
Savage nodded.
"And remember - we meet tonight at nine o'clock." With that, he swept away, leaving Alice to cast one last baffled look at Savage before jogging to catch up with him. Savage bit back her confusion and got to work.
Lord Voldemort stood at the mouth of the Death Eaters' cave, surveying the valley before him. Rage unlike any he had ever felt before surged through him, making thunder rumble in the storm above, making the rock behind him split and the ice crack in every direction. His magic flooded from him in spikes, calling darkness to him, driving every living creature that still lingered in the valley away.
Gone. Everything was gone. His Death Eaters. His prisoners. His secrets. Gone.
It had started with the cave. The cave that house-elf Kreacher knew about - the cave Regulus might therefore know about. He had returned to the cave, and found his Inferi reduced to ash, his locket gone.
He had believed, then, that it was only this one loss; Regulus had now known, could not have known, about any other Horcrux.
And yet… and yet he couldn't risk it. He couldn't risk the possibility that his deepest secret might somehow have been discovered. It would only be a simple matter to check on the ring, in that shack where his ancestors had festered.
But the shack was gone. Fiendfyre. The ring… gone.
That was when the fear had first truly seized him. When he had known that something was truly amiss. Someone knew. But how much did they know?
He already knew Malfoy's possessions had been seized by the Ministry, including the diary Lord Voldemort had so mistakenly entrusted to him. Was that how the secret had been discovered? Had the Ministry identified the diary as a Horcrux?
What if Dumbledore knew?
There was only one way to know, and in his rage and fear Lord Voldemort had taken the risk. He had slipped through the Ministry's defenses. He had killed more than one of its servants. And there, in the Auror's storage room, he had discovered that the diary, too, was gone. If he had been less impatient, he would have left the clerk alive - long enough to torture her, long enough to determine who had taken that precious piece of his soul. But she was dead, and there was no record of the diary's removal.
But there was someone who had been there that day, when Lucius was arrested. Someone who was currently his prisoner. Someone who had been seen in Hogwarts soon after his escape from Azkaban. Hogwarts, where the diadem had been concealed. Voldemort knew, in his darkest heart, that the diadem, too, was gone.
And so he had returned here, and found… this. The valley marred in multiple places by Fiendfyre. His Inferi either scattered and hiding or burned as well. His Death Eaters dead or taken. Snape and the Potter girl gone.
Everything was gone.
Except, perhaps, the cup.