Chapter Seven
Torture, Harry decided as he struggled against the ropes biting into his arms and wrist, was absolutely disgusting. A real bitch, when it got down to it. Not only did it hurt, but there were also so many ways to torture a body.
Like now. His legs were both tied up to a pole that was then chained to the wall across from him, forcing his legs to constantly stretch out. It was so tight that his legs were pulled to their extreme limits, almost to the point where their sockets had been pulled out. His waist and back were tied to another pole, forcing him to "keep his back straight." And his arms were then tied to the same pole of his legs. He was constantly touching his toes, and with a straight back, it was unbelievable agony. Especially when some Death Eater or other would pounce right in, lean against his back, and casually tell tales of who they'd tortured that day, or what city they'd attacked, or something like, "When the Dark Lord's in power, blah blah blah blah."
Right now, it was Nott, chewing on an apple as he spoke of just how loud his victims screamed.
"She was a muggle, too," Nott went on, leaning against the pole and Harry ground his teeth in pain. "Never even though magic existed. Denied it right up to when she died. She had a beautiful daughter. Not at all like my Jessica though. I'd a kept her, just the same, and brought her up to be a servant or something. Muggles are good for things like that, you know. My Jessica would've loved a real servant, not just those scrawny house elves."
Nott hit Harry upside the head. "You listening, boy?"
"I'm listening, but not comprehending," Harry muttered darkly. "I think you're too stupid to be understood."
"What's that now?"
Harry didn't answer, which earned him another smack on the head but Nott went on, this time going on about how beautiful his Jessica was, a girl who was "much too good to even be seen by a muggle," now that he thought about it.
Eventually, the Death Eater went away, leaving Harry with his silence again. Missy sneaked in, dabbing a wet cloth over his face and giving him some water. His pants, torn to the knees, were dirty so she cleaned them. His shirt was in the same condition, sporting several deep tears and showing off the gashes in his skin. She fixed it all without a word.
"What today, Missy?" Harry asked, desperately hoping that time had gone by as quick as he thought it had.
"Today is Monday still. Very late. Missy have much work to be done, sir. Missy have to go." She bowed daintily and vanished.
"Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday," Harry repeated over and over again. He wondered what Dumbledore was doing, could practically see the old man barging down to the Malfoy Mansion with that look in his eyes, a thousand Aurors behind him. Yes, Dumbledore was coming, and there was nothing Voldemort could do to stop him. Then all this torture would stop, all his wounds would heal, and he'd go back to--
Harry's thought train faltered at that.
Back to Hogwarts, where the students avoided him like the plague, where everyone knew just how guilty he was and would probably say how much he deserved to be exactly where he was. Cho would probably take one look at him and tell him to go back to Voldemort.
The door creaked open, and in the dim light Harry might have sworn that it was Dumbledore! He was right, Dumbledore had rescued him! He'd be free from this place, this place where you thoughts were the only real company there was. Dumbledore-
"Potter, I hear that my servants have bored you," Voldemort whispered.
Harry stiffened as best as he could, a thousand hopes and fears dashed with that simple voice.
Nagini hissed in after her master, the door shutting behind them. His footsteps didn't make any noise because he was suddenly beside Harry, who nearly jumped in surprise as those cold, cold fingers snapped beside his face, calling to life some small flames.
Voldemort glanced at Harry and muttered something, untying the knots at Harry's wrists and removing the pole at his back. Before Harry could think, thought, a force was there, bending his back forward.
"Perhaps you do not fear them as well as you should.
He was pressed, lower and lower, until his chin scrapped the floor. Harry grunted, but wasn't in any true pain until that same force pressing him down began to pull up his arms. He bit back a scream.
"Don't you know that I am the power behind them? Or do you not fear me either?"
His arms started to twist and Harry couldn't stop the gasp of pain or the scream that ripped out his throat.
"We shall have to fix that."
Nagini slithered towards him, wrapping around his chest as soon as the force keeping him bent over lifted. Harry was gasping in pain as she tightened her coils, restricting his breathing.
Voldemort motioned and the door opened, several Death Eaters coming in. Each of them held their wands but one, who held a long knife, looking twice as threatening.
As they approached him, Harry let his mind wander. The Death Eaters, he'd realized, preferred to use curses like the Cruticus Curse, something that brought the most pain without getting any blood on themselves. They loved tortures that hurt the victim without any physical witness. They didn't like to get down and dirty, to have bruises, cuts, burns, and whatnot left on their victims when they were done. Death Eaters, or at least most of the, liked to torture their victims as quickly as possible before leaving.
There were certain exceptions; Lucius Malfoy liked to leave Harry with bruises and black eyes. The newest recruit, Marcus Flint, also took Harry torture to the extreme, most likely because he'd known Harry personally, had been beaten by him in almost every Quidditch game.
The Death Eaters with wands all pointed to him. "Crucio!"
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Dumbledore sat at his desk, idly playing with the globe of gray on his desk. He'd transferred his memories into the Pensieve not a moment ago, and they were still there, swirling about. He sighed and leaned forward, losing himself in the dark whirlpool and then--
"I would like to thank you, all you, for sparing the time to come to this meeting." Dumbledore smiled in welcome to the different species represented in the large dungeon room. There were some beings that had left immediately after Harry's story but he was pleased to find that the majority of them had stayed and were settled in the underground chambers magically enlarged to fit everyone. "These are dark times that call us together, and I am sorry that only under such measures did we meet. I weighs heavily on my conscious, that I allowed many years to pass without deepening our friendship."
The elf murmured something softly beneath his breath, sitting cross-legged on his chair. The giant beside him chuckled but both fell silent. "I was just commenting that such a large school, with such students as I have seen, would have taken up anyone's time," the elf stated when the room looked to him.
Dumbledore smiled as other beings chuckled. "Far too true at times, I admit."
"Is there a point to this?" the Amazon asked sharply. "I was told to attend a meeting discussing the possible rebirth of the Dark One, and I haven't the time of day to waste on meaningless simple talk."
"Do not forget to who you speak," the pale girl beside her chided gently. To all eyes, she looked normal enough, but in her blood boiled the tainted blood of the werewolf. She bowed her head to Dumbledore in respect. "I am perhaps the most grateful, Dumbledore. Of the many wizards, only you have seen fit to provide one of my number with an education befitting any human."
"Remus was one of my best students," Dumbledore replied kindly. "I should thank him for attending my school. But, I digress; there is much to cover and we should begin at once. I would like to first welcome and introduce everyone: Tiamedes, of the elves; Moloch, of the vampires; Turgon of the dwarves; Doris of the Amazons; Gorath of the giants; Romania of the dragons; Aello of the werewolves; Firenze of the centaurs; Helena of the veelas; Porlock, the horse-guardian. Also, to all the species who have no name in the English tongue: the sphinx, griffin, unicorn, pegasus, hippogriff, Acromantula, and Nundu."
The last name sent a gasp through the room even as the huge, black leopard stretched and watched them with lazy, amused eyes. Dumbledore didn't seem to notice their apprehension as he motioned to the last three species, flying about the room. "And of course, our resident translators, the fay family: the fae, fairies, and pixies. I now turn the discussion over to Tiamedes."
"The first topic," the elf started smoothly, his voice disarming, "is any decision any of you have already come to. I was one of they who did return home during the two days Albus afforded us, and I return now to report that, though the elf monarchs are shocked that the Dark one has risen, it was not too deep a shock. The king had once revealed his doubt that the Dark One was forever defeated, and young Potter's words only bear witness to those doubts."
"My people have long sustained a custom to remain far from the ways of man. I myself was given the title of ambassador simply because only I have ever had any contact with the mortal within the last decade. We fought not in the last battle, nor in the war against the wizard Grindelwald. Even now, we question whether our participation is needed in this. My people are a solitary one, a weakness of ours but one that we hope to strengthen."
Tiamedes sat down and the werewolf girl stood up, beating both the dwarf and the vampire.
"I admitted, Albus," she began in a husky timbre, "that the only reason I was sent here is because the Elders thought it an unwise move to ignore your invitation. You are the only of the wizarding world who has treated any of our kind with any semblance of respect, taking in Remus and giving him an education befitting to any of the other children. Yet, even with this gratitude on our part, our Elders think it equally unwise to put our trust in your hands sorely on the basis of a teenager's words."
"Though Harry Potter has proven, from the accounts of many, to be wise beyond his years, and has also displayed a keen intelligence, he is still a young child. Even if we did ally with you, our kind would never be accepted among the ranks of light magic. There is no love lost between werewolves and wizards; our Elders do not want our young to lose their lives fighting a cause that gains them no respect, and only bitter humiliation."
"You speak tha truth, werewolf," the giant stirred. "Us giants aren't looked upon kin'ly. There 'r' still many 'ho think we're on You-Know-Who's side, 'specially since we used ta be. It ain't goin'a be easy, but we made a mistake before that we ain't goin'a do again. 'Sides, our baby brothe' says this is tha side tha's right, and he's tha only one'a us that's got any edjacasion. I did'en have ta go home ta tell ya, Albus, that tha giants be workin' on yur side, this time."
"Giants," the veela sniffed. "I am zurprised that you 'r' even allowed within walking diztance of 'ogwarts. You are nothing more than traitors--"
"This is not the time for such accusations," the elf interrupted. "We come together as allies--or at least, as friendly parties hoping to gain an alliance with one another. There will be no prejudices displayed here."
"Well put, majesty," Dumbledore murmured and the elf ducked his head. "I hadn't expected that a simple request would be responded with your authority."
"I meant what I said about my people not wishing to make such a grievous mistake, headmaster," the elf whispered back.
"Ye've alreasy decided?" the dwarf asked, speaking to the giant. "Then we be brothers, in spirit if not might."
The giant smiled at the small creature, not even tall enough to measure up to his waist. "Ye be my small brother, like Hagrid be my little brother. It's'a good friendship."
"You've come because 'Agrid is your 'alf brother? I 'ave come because I was ze closest, azide from my cousin," Helena purred, pointing her charms to the elf who only smiled apologetically as he was left unaffected. She pouted.
"Your cousin? Fleur Delacour?"
The veela nodded, twisting some golden strands of hair in her fingers. "I am of ze rhoyal family of ze veelas, in France."
"I come 'cause my brotha asked me ta," the giant announced beefily. He towered over everyone else, a good foot taller than even Hagrid. "Said there was important stuff goin' on tha we giants need ta know 'bout."
"I believe I speak for the rest of us when I say that we were chosen simple because we were either the closest or the more powerful of our kinds," the vampire cut in. "And that we've come because we haven't yet made a decision."
"We can't waste our time," Doris agreed.
"I present the second topic: the accuracy behind the rumors of Voldemort's return." The vampire sat back down, folding his arms and smiling wickedly.
"Ye dunot believe tha boy when 'e comes an' tells us what happened?" the dwarf bellowed, standing on his chair to glare at the vampire. "Tha Dark Lord be back, I tell ya. Soon, 'e'll be callin' ya to his service, like tha last time."
"And even if he hasn't returned, there are situations that require our immediate attention," the werewolf interrupted, smoothly stopping a fight. "In the past month, werewolf hunts have increased dramatically, as have vampire slayings. I have even heard news of the Ministry offering rewards--over a hundred Galleons! --for wolf hides."
"Our islands are being encroached upon," the Amazon added, twisting the bands on her hands in anger. "The pacts we made with the Ministry are now considered 'invalid,' for no better reason than the Minister's greed. He sees our forests only as profit, our warriors as nothing more than frivolous women.
"Dragons are in hiding," the albino shape shifter in the corner muttered softly but everyone heard her. "Others of the clouds are also flying higher to escape capture. Sphinxes, pegasi, even griffins no longer wish to be seen by wizard eyes." She blinked slowly, eyes peering out with trance-like hypnosis. "Magical beasts are blamed for attacks. And not all are strong enough to fight off the bounty hunters that come for their hides."
The small fae, stopping mid-translation, glowed brightly. Romania tipped her head to the side, listening and nodding. "The Small Ones also say that their games are interrupted more frequently now."
Dumbledore pulled away from his Pensieve with a sigh, letting the images roll away. Not long after that, Doris and Moloch had demanded that Harry be brought back before them to be questioned about his tale. Minerva had been asked to find him, but returned after a half hour, thinking that Romania had also been sent to find him and had already brought him into the dungeon.
And sometime, between all the discussing and arguing, the Nundu had slipped from the room as well. When that was discovered, almost all the magical beings had left, straightaway. Nundus were well known as being the most dangerous beasts in existence; in the last battles against Voldemort, he'd sent hordes of them out against villages defenseless against their death-carrying breath.
The weaker beings said that they'd continue hiding, not planning on being around when Voldemort came to call, while the stronger ones warned that, should the Ministry take any more aggressive moves against them, a retaliation would begin.
"Headmaster?"
Albus opened his eyes to see Remus and Arabella, standing in his doorway. "Oh, forgive an old man for falling asleep, though it was really your fault for keeping me waiting for so long. Come in, come in."
"The back room, right?" Arabella asked, winking at him. Dumbledore smiled and nodded, both times looking more weary than he had in a long time. The "back room" was actually a secret meeting chamber located just beyond Dumbledore's office, the door to it hidden behind the old portrait of Professor Dippet.
Arabella walked over to the sleeping portrait and gently reached for the doorknob located just below the sleeping man's nose. Dippet twitched but kept sleeping as his picture swung open, revealing the room. It was hardly furnished, the only thing being an enormous round table and several chairs with each labeled.
"I think I have to agree with Sirius: this does remind me of Arthur and his meeting room," Arabella muttered.
Remus chuckled. "Of course, you'd know how that looked, wouldn't you?"
Arabella swatted him. "I'm not that old!"
"I asked you to come here to do me a favor," Dumbledore interrupted. "There are some places I need for you to check."
"Any reason why?" Remus asked politely.
"Yes, but I would prefer it if you didn't know of it until tonight, when the Order is called."
Arabella gasped. "You're calling us back? Has something happened?"
Sighing, Dumbledore rubbed his forehead. "Yes, to the point where the war may have begun."
"It has to do with Harry," Remus stated.
Dumbledore smiled tiredly. "When does it not? Please, just check this list of places and report back to this room later tonight, around midnight. Then, I will give up my secret." Remus and Arabella nodded, if somewhat confusedly, and left the room as Dumbledore added to himself. "And pray that Sirius doesn't try to kill me."
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"My name is Hannah Abbot. I am the Hufflepuff Head Girl at Hogwarts."
"My name is-"
"Hannah, will you knock it off already? Everyone here gets it but you."
Her face going pink, Hannah turned to glare at her friend, the glare ruined when her pigtails swung around as well, swinging into her face. She brushed the blonde strands away and tried another glare but Ernie wasn't affected. If anything, he was grinning even wider, and the Hufflepuff in her couldn't help but smile back.
"Scratch that, maybe by repeating that 'I am a Head Girl' phrase over and over again, you'll get it into your mind to start acting like one." Ernie leaned back against the black-and-yellow pillow couches of the Hufflepuff common room. "But, then again, it is you that we're talking about. I don't think any amount of repeating could get it into that head of yours."
"Be glad that I'm a Hufflepuff, Macmillan," Hannah cut in roughly. "Loyal and all. If anyone else had to be your friend and put up with you, they'd have dropped you long ago." She smiled playfully, throwing a pillow at her friend's face to prove that she was just joking. ...
"The way you two carry on sometimes give a girls a reason to wonder," Susan joked as she walked up from the basement dormitories. Girls to the right, boys to the left and all. The Hufflepuff common room was on the first floor, level with the ground outside its wide windows. The dormitories were underground holes, earthy and beautiful to the Hufflepuff eye, modeled after their animal mascot: the badger.
Years ago, the Hufflepuffs had a tower like the Gryffindors but it had burned, along with every other house. The Gryffindors, outraged that such a thing could happen, demanded that their be built first and it was. The Slytherins had declined, choosing another spot in the castle as theirs, and the Ravenclaws had moved from their burned tower to a not-so-secret common room near the library. The Hufflepuffs, while not declining the offer for their tower to be rebuilt, hadn't been quite so adamant about it and had moved to an underground chamber, patient as always for their tower to be rebuilt. As a result, the matter was forgotten and the Hufflepuffs tower remained a pile of soot, but they liked their new rooms much better.
Susan looked around in surprise as she saw every Hufflepuff in the Common room. Shoving Justin out of a nearby couch, she asked, "Is there something going on that I don't know about?"
"Yea, it's not like I was sitting there or anything," Justin muttered, shoving back. A small battle ensued, ending with both Hufflepuffs sharing the seat. Justin continued his conversation with Eleanor and Owen, both looking tickled at the mini-fight, and Susan repeated her question.
Ernie shrugged. "Professor Sprout came in here, 'sprouting' some news about everyone having to say in the common room." He looked quite pleased at the joke.
Hannah rolled her eyes. "Some people consider puns to be the most sophisticated form of humor," she informed him. "That sophistication is lost on you. Anyway," she continued, turning back to Susan, "after Sprout came in and left, the Fat Friar floated in to say the same thing. And a couple other ghosts, the ones partial to us Hufflepuffs at least."
"And what ghost wouldn't be?" Ernie stood up with the declaration. The second years looked to him with admiration while the others did so with amused toleration. "Hufflepuffs are the best! We're hard working-"
"Yea!" Some second years emphasized his words by leaping to their feet, punching the air with their fists.
"-loyal-"
"Yea!" More students joining in, grinning as pride swept the room like cabin fever.
"-and damn-well handsome!"
"Well, some of us, anyway," Justin threw in and everyone laughed, enjoying the feeling of unity that lasted even after the cheering died down and everyone again separated into their own groups of friends.
Ernie gave a bow, returning to his seat, a flushed expression on his tanned face. "Don't act like you didn't enjoy that," he warned Hannah, playfully swatting at one of her pigtails. "I saw you jumping and cheering just like the rest of them." Hannah tried to hide her grin and gave up with an exasperated sigh as she settled for swiping back at Ernie's leg.
He jumped, stumbling into Laura, who fell against Brian and knocked Michael clear off his chair. A dominos effect soon followed, ever year collapsing into a heap, and those unlucky enough to have been knocked over pulling down to the floor those few who had managed to stay standing.
Hannah struggled under the mass of flaying limbs and muffled cries until she battled her way to the top, able to stand once more. "Hufflepuffs: loyal, hardworking, handsome...and unforgivably clumsy." She gave a whoop as someone (Ernie) grabbed her legs and pulled her back under.
"Oh my...Hufflepuffs! I demand order this instant!" Sprout's shrill voice echoed through the room once, stilling everything. Then, in a panicky rush, the students climbed to their feet, helping the stragglers up. As one, they faced down their red-faced Head, the Fat Friar smiling sympathetically beside her.
"I will not tolerate such nonsense in my house!" she screamed. "What were you doing? Coition?"
That did it. Between the professor's red face, shrill voice, and absurd suggestions, the Hufflepuffs fell over in laughter so strong, not even Sprout's anger could survive in the face of it.
Hannah, gasping for breath, made her way to her Head. "It's nothing. Not as bad as it sees. Just Hufflepuff nature."
"Hufflepuff nature to suddenly fall over in a pile of bodies?" Sprout restated, aghast.
"Clumsiness," the Fat Friar corrected, "is what I think the girl was referring to."
"Alright, then, that's enough." Sprout clapped her hands for attention and her students fell in line. The smile that had been on her face vanished, as if she suddenly remembered a matter so serious that humor wasn't an emotion to be displaying. "Now, I'm sure many of you are wondering about the restrictions currently placed on yourselves. There are rumors--I repeat, unfounded rumors--that a student has gone missing.
"One guess to who that is," Brian, a sixth year, muttered softly. The students around him nodded solemnly.
"Since you see to have already guessed, I'll not deny it." Sprout sighed, seeming to lose her energy in that sad motion. "Harry Potter is the only Hogwarts student who remains unaccounted for. The headmaster is already dealing with this issue, so there will be no interference from my house." She stated these last words with a steely look in her eyes.
"But professor, unless I'm mistaken, the Gryffindors will be doing everything they can to help Harry." Hannah gulped under the hard look Sprout sent her way but held her ground.
"That's right," Justin stepped forward. The student beside him, certainly not a Hufflepuff that Hannah recognized, moved back, hiding in the crowd before he was noticed. "Gryffindors are brave and all, but we Hufflepuffs are loyal to the end, thou we haven't had a chance to prove it."
"Cedric did!" someone muttered, getting several painful nods. The Hufflepuff's death weighed heavily on everyone's mind, though not in a bad sense. They mourned him, but didn't obsess about it; nor did they blame anyone but You-Know-Who, a blame that had turned up a notch since Harry's testimony.
Justin gave a nod as if to say, 'My point exactly.' He looked around the room, purposely avoiding Sprout's gaze. "How about we take this opportunity to show our true colors; even if he's not in our house, Harry's shown as much loyalty as any Hufflepuff, so I vote for declaring him an honorary member of our house!"
"Here, here!" someone cheered.
Justin grinned wide, gathering more courage from the support. Since Sprout looked too astonished to take the initiative, Hannah stood up. After all, a person could only be declared a member of another house if every student in that house agreed, and that agreement was cemented by a figure of authority: either a professor or the year's Head Boy and Girl.
"Any opposed, say nay."
No one made a sound.
"Those in favor?"
The room irrupted in cheers so fierce, Sprout took an involuntary step back.
"Besides," Ernie shouted, "he's a student at out school. That's enough to help him if he needs help, in my book at least."
"Woah, there," Susan murmured. "That's a little too much change at one time. Talk like that includes Slytherins, remember, and there aren't too many who'd look kindly to that."
Few had heard Ernie, too busy watching Hannah as she formally completed the process of including Harry as a Hufflepuff House member. "Then I pronounce Harry Potter a Hufflepuff." A spark of canary yellow sparked and then completely surrounded her, many different shades appearing as one. The color filled the entire room, lighting everyone's amazed faces.
Then, as quickly as it came, the yellows shot off like a bullet, going so fast that it might have been a snitch. It ran, trashing the halls with its bright color, and took the shape of a badger. The Hufflepuffs followed it with their eyes for the few seconds before the yellow color disappeared completely from view.
Sprout looked unpredictably proud, excusing herself from the room as tears strolled down her face. The Fat Friar looked serious for once, eyes still trailing after the yellow colors even as he left the room as well.
With an exhausted sigh, Hannah fell into her couch, a hand going up to unclip her hair and the blonde strings fell like a curtain.
Everyone else took a seat, brining their chairs around in a circle so that the room looked like a war council. "Alright, here's what we do: we need information on what the Gryffindors are doing because we don't want to copy them, per se, but we might be able to help."
"You're talking about a spy?" Kevin Whitby smiled widely at the suggestion. "I can do it. I sometimes hang out with Dennis Creevey, and everyone knows how those brothers are. Say the word 'Potter' and they'll tell all their secrets."
Hannah nodded, still looking tired. "Very good. Now, we need a plan of action-"
"A plan of what now?"
"Of action! Like an outline of what we want to d, what we need to do. Is it more important to protected Harry from afar, or do we sic a Hufflepuff on him at all times? Are we his personal friends, or his unseen allies? Do we try to find him now, or wait for Dumbledore?" Her questions boomed out, one right after another, leaving her house breathless. The last question also put a great weight on the Hufflepuffs. "You have to realize that this isn't a game, this isn't something that we can do now and forget about later. We can't take back his membership now."
"Well, I don't like waiting for him to come back on his own, or waiting for some adult to find him while we just wait around," Ernie started, and several heads nodded in agreement. "But, seriously, we're only teens, wizards and witches in training."
"Point taken," Hannah conceded. She bit back a yawn. Ernie glanced at her, concerned.
"However," Susan shot back, "Harry's our age. If he can do all that he's done, then there has to be something we can do, like get our parents involved or collect information. We might be able to organize a strike team, and you never know what you can find out by keeping your ears open." More heads bobbed with her words.
"Point taken," Hannah repeated, smiling. "But I'd like to add that not all of us were up for a debate between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor when it came to being sorted." Susan blushed. "Let's leave the final heroics to the adults and those foolishly brave Gryffindors. But that idea of 'keeping our ears open' sounds like a winner. Those in favor?"
"Yea!"
"Opposed?" No one answered and Hannah smiled again. "Who's going to get our parents involved--any parents, as a matter of fact--, who's going to keep their ears open (spy) and who's going to do the research?" After each question, students raised their hands to volunteer, Hannah nodding her approval. The last question had some complaining about "Ravenclaws are the only people supposed to be in the library," but they volunteered anyway.
"About your other questions," Jessica Moon stood, looking slightly uncertain as the room swerved to stare at her, but her friends nodded encouragingly. "I don't think it's right to just help Harry without him knowing. If he's an honorary Hufflepuff, he should know of it and know that we're all his friends. Especially now. When," and she emphasized the word, "when he comes back, getting help from 'unseen allies' won't gain his trust at all."
"The magic that's used to bind him to our house tells him he's a Hufflepuff, so Harry'll know that he's a Hufflepuff, regardless. But that's a good point," Hannah commented as Jessica sat down. "In favor of becoming Harry's best friends when he gets back?"
An overwhelming cheer arose from the room. When she asked for those opposed, someone exclaimed, "There's no one left to oppose it!", drawing chuckles.
"Right then!" Hannah leaned over to pick up a bag of candy left near the fire. "I propose that we adjourn this meeting by having some sweets, unless this bag belongs to someone who doesn't want to share." She didn't wait for an objection to pop the candy in her mouth.
The room erupted in laughter as Hannah disappeared with a pop, leaving a disgruntled canary in her place. The Weasley's Wizard Wheezes order form, previously floating high above notice, lowered itself on cue, releasing a spark of fireworks in the room. More pops filled the room as the students unwittingly ate the candy, and no one noticed the aspiring Ravenclaw sneaking out after visiting his friend, mind awhirl with ideas and insights as well as a plan. If the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were up to the challenge of helping Harry, Ravenclaws weren't to be left behind.
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"Psst. Sirius!"
Sirius shook his head, curling back up into the small piece of rag they called a blanket. Someone groaned.
"What do you want him for, again?"
"Quiet, Jim! The, uh, Minister! Yea, Minister Fudge wants to see him. He has something more to tell Sirius."
"Was-was all that true, Bill?" Jim asked, stuttering slightly. "About Sirius being innocent and all?"
Sirius' cell door swung open with a creak and Bill replied, "Yea, it's all true."
"But-"
"Just remember what you heard, alright? And tell everyone else, but try not to get in a fight with Fudge just yet. If he hears that you're starting trouble, he might just include you in that 'followers' category, and kill you off. And I don't want that to happen now. I think that you're a smart kid, smart enough to get through this."
"If that was true, then that means that You-Know-Who..."
Sirius squinted as harsh light invaded his cell. He could make out Bill and Jim in the doorway, Bill nodding his head slowly. "Fudge doesn't want to admit it. You heard that much. What you don't know is just how far he's gone to keep this all a secret. There have been a lot of promotions for anyone who shows that they're willing to support Fudge no matter what. That's how Percy got to be his personal assistant, but Percy's changed so I'm not worried."
Jim turned and spat. "Well, there goes my faith in leadership."
"Don't get all cynical," Bill laughed, slapping his friend's back. "We still got some good ones out there. Albus Dumbledore, for one."
"Yea, and that kid. Harry Potter. Defeated Voldemort once, defeat him again, you know what I'm saying?" Jim joked but Bill's face clouded over.
"Just try and remember that Harry's still a kid," he whispered. "He's friends with my youngest brother, even been over to the house once, and I can swear that he's a good kid, but even the best of them have mistakes. I'd hate to be there if he falls, with all the trust everyone puts in him. How'd you like it if everyone expected you to defeat You-Know-Who when you're only fifteen?"
"But he's done it before-"
"My brother Charlie works with dragons. He says that even if one day, a dragon's all nice to you, it doesn't mean that the next day it'll still be nice. Heck, most likely, , it'll bite your head off when you come out, thinking it's tame. That's why dragon handlers are always in danger because even if they do it once, it doesn't mean that they'll do it again. Do you get when I'm saying?"
Jim put a hand in his pocket and nodded.
"Good, then let's get going. It's already late, almost dark."
"You'll get him back, right?" Jim asked and Bill nodded. "Alright. Seeing as it's an official Ministry order," and Jim winked, "I can let you go without calling the Aurors on you."
"Thanks Jim." Bill shook hands.
"Thank you, Bill. It's been great having you for a friend, and all. A real eye-opener."
"Sometimes, thought, you wish that you'd kept your eyes shut, huh?"
Both of them jumped when Sirius spoke. "Jeez, I thought you were still asleep!" Bill breathed, putting a hand to his heart.
Sirius jumped off his bed energetically. "With you two hacking like old maids? Who can sleep in that?" He grinned. "So, off to see that old fart Fudge, eh? Give me a minute to think of something witty to say."
Bill grinned back, but he looked slightly uneasy. "Come on, Sirius. We've got a meeting to get to." And they walked to the apparating zone and disappeared.
----------------------------
"So, professor, what's happening?" Draco twirled his wand in his fingers lazily, falling into the soft comfort of the Slytherin common room couches. "I'm a Head Boy, yet I've not an idea of what's going on."
Snape grinned nastily, making Draco--and everyone else who sensed their Head's mood change--snap to attention. "I'm the Slytherin Head, a teacher at this school, and not even I have the full story. What does that tell you?"
Draco shrugged, muttering, "Just asking," as he curled his legs into the deep green sofas.
While the Slytherin rooms weren't cold--thanks to the excessive silver-green blankets and the fire--the dungeons they were in weren't exactly as hot as a summer morning. The stone floor was frigid, more effective than muggle coffee at waking a person, and the walls were no better. To make up for the chill (or to cover it up, Draco thought angrily) the Slytherins were rumored to have the largest fire place, its fire crackling all the daylong. Expensive and lush carpets covered the floors, thick furs hung on the walls, and banners hung from the ceiling, declaring Slytherin pride while they caught escaping heat.
In the corners, near the fireplace, was a little café-type setup; it was where Goyle and Crabbe dumped their food stash so that they'd never go hungry. As a result, none of the Slytherins did because of their private motto, "What is for one, is for all." Little tables with padded cushions on the chairs and black fur table cloths over their stone surfaces were being sat at by Slytherins studying, doing work, discussing, playing chess, or just pigging out. Girls walked down the hall to their dorms to grab the latest witch magazines and guys planned strategies against the other houses.
The overall atmosphere was cool, quiet, and calm, but the ingredients for an explosion were there in the way the Slytherins angrily told of a Gryffindor's latest display of retardation, in the way they slyly revealed a Hufflepuff's weakness, or warned the younger years of the Ravenclaws' studious manner hiding their extreme intelligence.
"Listen up," Snape started in his quietly commanding voice. Everyone paused to pay heed. "The headmaster is keeping quiet about this, but it seems that Potter has gone missing." He sneered, face screwed up in disgust, an emotion mirrored on many of his students' faces. "Who was supposed to watch him?"
Someone raised her hand and Snape descended with vulture-like violence. "What is your excuse, Miss Parkinson?"
She squirmed under his gaze, trying her best to act careless. "He was approached by the dragon, and I was given the impression that she was harmless, at least where Potter's safety was concerned. Besides, they were heading to the dungeons where the headmaster was having his meeting."
"Draco," Draco snapped his head up, an alarmed feeling rising in his throat, "your father came, didn't he."
Draco gulped and nodded, giving cause for Snape to shake his head and moan. "Foolish boy, why did you not tell me?"
"I-I thought he was going to visit the headmaster," Draco stuttered.
"It's now obvious that Voldemort has again managed to pull Potter from Hogwarts," Snape addressed the room, some Slytherins glaring at Draco and other giving him sly smiles. "So the headmaster has ordered that all students remain in their common rooms."
His black eyes glittered dangerously. "As you know, we cannot get involved now. Voldemort will know if any students try to help Potter, and if Slytherins were to be seen doing such a thing..." He trailed off, a proud smile playing at his lips as his students all nodded in understanding. "That leaves us with secrecy."
"Slytherin specialty," Blaise commented sarcastically. The Slytherins around her snickered. "Does Voldemort suspect you, professor?"
The question, asked from any other lips, would have earned a punishment far worse than detention, but as the student was Slytherin and therefore had a greater understanding of the real world, Snape shook his head. "There is no way to tell. However, should I become expendable, I cannot hear any plans if you make any."
Draco stood stiffly as the potions master strode from the dungeons. "In other words," he explained dryly to the second years, "if he's tortured, one of the first things he'll say to get Voldemort to trust him again is information of our plans to rescue Potter, if he hears of them."
"So what? We'll have to be careful around our Head now?" Graham asked.
Millicent turned on him with a disbelieving look. "Have you learned nothing as a Slytherin?" the fifth-year hissed. "How long would you last, facing down Voldemort with the Cruticus curse laid on every part of your body?"
The common room was cold, the chilling fear of reality and the terrors lying just outside the castle walls washing over the Slytherins.
Malcolm, resting between a chess move against Jacob Boyle, looked up with determination. "There is an issue we have to address, and address it soon," he stated calmly with wisdom beyond his years, looking at each Slytherin one at a time. "Voldemort will be recruiting the students in this house the heaviest. I am not calling out any of you, but I admit there are some of us who I fear will not remember the promises we made in our first year." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's painful to think about, but even this year, Marcus has joined Voldemort. I cannot image anyone else doing the same, but it's an unavoidable possibility."
Draco looked away when the second year looked to him, not saying anything and he was sure that many others felt the same. "There will be no accusations between us," he stated darkly.
"I never made an accusation," Jacob responded sincerely. "This house is more a family than my own blood relatives. I just wouldn't wish that life on anyone."
And as the Slytherins fell back to their cool silence, that statement troubled them more than they would admit.
----------------------------
Padma had just finished sending Cho up to bed when Terry rushed in, very un-Terry like, looking completely breathless. Mandy and Laura looked up in surprise from their story telling, their captivated audience of second and their years peering up with the same confusion on their faces. Stewart and Josie stopped their heated discussion on the different stages of moral development. Orla and Nancy paused in their four-way chess tournament with Morag and William.
The rest of the Ravenclaws, sitting at scattered bronze tables around the room and between the high bookshelves, looked around as the comfortable murmur of work being done died down. Papers stopped shuffling; books had their pages marked and were put down; discussions and debates slowed to a trickle and finally halted. The only sound was the muffled cries of Cho and her friends beyond the curved walls of the maze-like Ravenclaw room.
Terry Boot was wired enough without rushing in from being Rowena-knows-where--even with Flitwick and the Gray Lady's announcement that no student could leave their common room. Terry was actually very good friends with Justin of Hufflepuff; he was also very clever, as were all Ravenclaws, but he didn't like to read or spend his days in deep discussion or thinking of different philosophies like his fellow classmates.
Terry was grinning madly. "Guess were I've been!"
"Out of the common room, that's for sure," Padma answered, trying to act stern. "As Head Girl, I'm supposed to punish you by taking points from my own house, if that be the case."
"Don't worry about it," Terry replied. "Nobody saw me." Padma shook her head. "Anyway, I found out why we have to stay in here. When I tell you what I've heard, that whole matter of house points will be completely forgotten. That got people's attention.
"Well, out with it," Morag shouted from across the room. She moved a pawn to take William's rook on one board even as her bishop was pounced by Orla's queen on another. "We don't have all day to wait in dreadful suspense."
"Is Cho here? Terry asked, looking around. When he couldn't see her, he said, "Harry Potter's gone missing again"
"What?" Laura's mouth dropped open. She went pale, along with half of the Ravenclaw population, and they all turned to see Cho walk from around one corner, flanked by her friends. The sixth year was shaking all over as she repeated her question in short, breakable syllables. "What?"
"C-Cho, I thought you were upstairs," Laura stuttered.
Cho looked ready to cry again. "Please don't cry," Terry pleaded but she shook her head fiercely.
"Th lest time I heard those words," she whispered softly, "Cedric came back dead-"
"Cho Chang, you can do better than this!" Padma ordered. Her expression was soft, a hard contrast with the tone of her voice. "You spent all summer in mourning. You're dismantling your life for no good reason--Cedric wouldn't want this, not from you.
"We'll never knock that, now will we? Cho bit back angrily. Everyone drew back in shock at the harsh words but Cho took a shuddering breath and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, it's just...with everything that's happened...I never though about why he died before."
"Cho." Padma shook her head but Cho ignored her, eyes distant and focused on some far off point, mind relinquishing its hold on reality to dip into painful memories.
"I think that, before, I had just taken to the belief that Cedric died for a purpose, that his death was meaningful for some reason. To my mind, that was a simple fact, a given. He wouldn't have been killed unless there was some higher purpose involved."
"There was!" Mandy declared and the Ravenclaws nodded in mute agreement. "Cedric died because-"
Cho shook her head as Mandy struggled for the right words. "There wasn't. He was just there." A choked sob came from her throat. "There was no reason behind it. He just died; you heard Harry's: kill the spare."
"There's always a reason," Josie growled sharply. "Whether we see it, or are directly effected by it, makes no different. Besides, death is not something you can spend forever facing and mourning about. Thousands die daily, naturally or otherwise. Look to the Hufflepuffs if you feel yourself falling again. Cedric's own house does not mourn him as sharply as you do, not because they feel less but because they aren't about to spend their days in agony because they have already paid their tribute to him and are prepared to move on."
"Thee last few days have been hard for you, Cho. We know that. But," Stewart motioned to the air listlessly, "that is no reason for you to be so centered on death. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is just another step in our life of learning, necessary but not without its merits. Who knows what lies beyond the darkness of that eternal sleep?"
Cho sniffed but wiped at her eyes, a faint smile on her lips. "Trust me to encounter my own house when I'm looking for blind sympathy," she muttered. "All I get here is deep philosophy and a motive to move on."
Stewart frowned softly at his words being cast away so easily. "I'm not joking," he replied firmly.
She nodded. "I know that. Thank you."
"No problem."
Padma exhaled softly as all the tension left the room, looking for a good subject to turn to. "Tell me one good reason not to take off points for your wandering about the halls, Terry. And I mean good. Also, explain you statement concerning Harry Potter. If Cho doesn't mind, of course," she added, glancing the girl's way. Cho shook her head.
"Right the. I was just visiting Justin when all the news comes out about staying in your common house and all. I was about to leave when the Fat Friar stopped me, saying it wasn't safe and all and how he'd tell the headmaster that I was in there so nobody would think I was missing. So I stayed until everyone was pretty much distracted so I could sneak back here. But while I was there, Sprout came in. Turns out that it's Harry who's missing."
"Big surprise there," Laura rolled her eyes.
Padma had to agree with her. "You said I'd forget," she warned. "I haven't forgotten nothing yet."
"Maybe not, but what happened next sure is," Justin promised. "'Cause, just as Sprout told them all that they had to leave everything be, that Head Girl says it's not fair and soon, the whole house was saying that they were going to help Harry. I think we should, too."
Nancy snickered at the determined expr4ession on Terry' face but Padma silenced her with a look. "What do you mean, help?"
"It's no big secret as to the identity of Harry's kidnappers," Terry stated with a lecturing tone. "Only the Dark Lord has a reason to take him away. The Hufflepuffs realize this and now all have agreed to come up with a plan on how to protect him, how to get more wizards and witches to realize the dangers they are now in. But--"
"But Hufflepuffs are workers, not thinkers," William filled in.
"And as much as we hate to admit it, Slytherins are the best planners," Morag finished the thought. She looked intrigued. "What are you proposing? That we also join in this battle against the Dark Lord We are not placed in the house of Rowena because of our legendary courage. We Ravenclaws are the thinkers, the inventors, and the researchers--"
"I'm not suggesting that we challenge the Dark Lord outright," Terry replied haughtily. "But the fight is not a thing that concerns only courage and strength. We can do the Hufflepuffs research for them, freeing them to concentrate their work elsewhere. We can also teach them, subtly as ever, curses and counter-curses, as well as the Gryffindors. And we might be able to come up with solutions, invent new ways to join in the fight."
Padma held up her hand for silence as the room erupted in a fierce debate. She studied Terry's expression carefully, then quietly said, "I am in agreement with Terry. The last time the Dark Lord rose to power, he was not conquered for many years. We may all be adults before he is brought down again. However," she shouted as the noise broke out again.
No one paid her heed, too busy shouting out his or her own opinions. She glared at them and then asked, "Is this proper Ravenclaw behavior? This is a discussion, not a debate. If you cannot keep quiet until it is your turn to speak, then leave the rest of us to finish this conversation."
Her words chastened the Ravenclaws, returning the silence to the room, and Padma continued. "However, I feel that we must get all the facts about what Terry's heard before we, as a house, make a decision." Her eyes shined as she added: "Only as a house can we make a decision about a non-Ravenclaw student."
This settled the restless and everyone was quiet as Terry took a deep breath and related everything he'd heard during his brief stay in the Hufflepuff common room. His memory was as close to perfect as possible, restating almost everything word-for-word.
When he finished, Padma was resting her head in her arms, nodding in understanding. Because she was the highest authority, she would have the privilege of being the first to speak. "A strategic move," she informed them after a sufficient time to gather her thoughts. "Making Harry a honorary member, I mean. It insures that all Hufflepuffs in the past, present, and future will lend him their support."
"Hufflepuff loyalty is legendary," Nancy murmured. "Just as Slytherin--"
"With two houses behind him, Harry's influence increases significantly," Laura observed. "With three..."
"Are you suggesting that we follow Hufflepuff example?" Orla demanded.
Laura gave her a cracked smile. "Perhaps."
"It's an idea," Cho, of all people, added to the conversation in support of Laura's suggestion. "I think that we should. Then, officials at the Ministry might be more open to Harry's words. After all, most of them are Ravenclaws."
"And if the Ministry acknowledged the Dark Lord's return, the wizarding community will find themselves unable to deny it anymore. Then, they will be able to prepare for the upcoming war," William added.
"If no one disagrees," no one did, as the points came together, "then I, as Head Girl, do officially declare Harry Potter an honorary member of the Ravenclaw House."
Like what happened with Hannah, blue sparked and surrounded the Head Girl, but she was prepared for it and for the energy sap that Hannah had also undergone. The blues sparkled, hints of bronze tinting the wild streaks, and its eagle form was visible a moment before it soared off, down to and past the portrait that protected the Ravenclaw sanctuary.
Padma collapsed into Terry's waiting arms. "I-I didn't know it'd be this tiring," she admitted but Terry shushed her, carrying her to one of the long, blue couches pressed up against the walls.
"Isn't it a wonderful coincidence," Padma murmured, "each of us having our own Head Boy or Girl? A bit too much of a coincidence, if you ask me. Now, we can add whoever we want to our house without having to consult the headmaster or a professor."
"When he returns to Hogwarts, I think Harry will be rather shocked at the changes," Josie joked from Padma's side. The Ravenclaws drew around their collapsed Head Girl worriedly but she smiled wearily, already beginning to sit up. Terry didn't let her go, though.
"We need to send an ambassador to the Gryffindors," Stewart pointed out suddenly. "It will not be due for us to suddenly adopt one of their own without their knowing."
"And Professor Dumbledore and Professor Flitwick as well," Mandy stood up. "I volunteer myself for these tasks."
"Granted," Padma nodded. "I suggest that you form a small task force. In the future, we may need to send messages quickly to these persons, and it will be easier if there is already a group prepared for the job." Mandy nodded stiffly and hurried off, calling off several Ravenclaws, including Cho, to join her.
"I have a feeling that our time in the library is going to increase soon," Terry joked but stopped laughing when Padma looked up to him from his lap.
"As this is you idea, Terry, I assign you the task of directing our researching," she stated and he gulped. "You have the whole of Ravenclaw at your disposal, so long as the Ravenclaw in question doesn't have a prior arrangement. It wouldn't do for our Quidditch tea to lose their edge." She smiled, tucking her head against his chest, and gave an exhausted sigh. "But you yourself don't have to spend too much time in the library, if you don't want."
"You have more projects in mind, correct?" Padma nodded and Josie, with a quick glance at Stewart, plowed on. "I propose a small group be given the task of researching the mental and moral aspects of known Death Eaters, to better our understanding of their strategies and thoughts. Stewart and I have already discussing and researching such an issue, but more minds are always better in expanding our thoughts' horizons in these predicaments."
"And I also propose that we Ravenclaws met at least once a day to discuss our findings," Stewart added quickly. "So that other discoveries will guide us all. For example, if we find that Death Eaters prefer using certain curses because of their mental dispositions, those in research can expand their efforts to counter that specific curse."
"Very good idea!" Padma congratulated, leaning heavily against Terry, her eyelids dropping. She looked around the room. "Has everyone heard that? Good. Before we go to bed, we can spend an extra hour for that idea. The time will differ from day to day, of course. Are there any other suggestions?"
William cleared his throat uneasily. "I-I propose that we send an invitation to the Slytherin house-"
His voice was immediately drowned out by boos and shouts. Padma struggled to keep her head up but gave up, completely falling against Terry's chest with a whimper, and then she fell asleep.
Terry glared around the room, whispering, "Quiet! Padma's asleep!"
"We'll deal with that suggestion later," Orla promised with a vicious look in her eyes.
And Padma fell into a spiraling darkness, unaware that in the Hufflepuffs' common room, Hannah had fallen in the same deep sleep. Her friends tucked her in with worried expressions before climbing back to their common rooms as Terry dodged through the maze-like corridors to the girls' dormitories, about to do the same thing.
And as they slept, the two shared one more thing: a dream.
----------------------------
Hours later, as the dead of midnight fell from the starry skies and the thick clocks around Hogwarts chimed their magic songs, most of the beings of Hogwarts slept soundly, not thinking past their current comfort and dreams. The library had closed hours before, but that didn't stop one person from rummaging through the dusty books.
Dumbledore sighed, gently replacing yet another useless book back onto its shelf before massaging his forehead, crinkled though it was. Several new lines of worry had appeared on his face that very night.
When he head the chimes, he stood slowly, dusting off his thick robes, and made his way back to his office. While walking there, he passed Filch. The two nodded, not saying a word as they passed on, but Filch looked as haggard as Dumbledore felt. No matter that he hated the children, Filch took his duty very personally and when a Hogwarts student suddenly disappeared, the man felt that it was his own fault.
Just as Dumbledore had.
He reached his office, the gargoyle swinging open without needing the password, and Dumbledore walked up the stairs, each step feeling like a heavy burden on his old age. The summer before had felt the same, with the exception that Harry had only been gone a short while, hardly an hour, before returning. Somewhere, deep in his mind, Dumbledore was asking why Harry hadn't escaped yet. And somewhere deeper asked himself why he expected so much.
"Because...Harry is the heir of Gryffindor," Dumbledore answered his own question, regret tinting his voice. "And he's always before managed to escape his enemies, be they his family or Voldemort.
Thousands of thoughts flittered through Dumbledore's mind before he took the last stair up. 'Harry could be at the old Riddle mansion--no, it had already been checked and though there were signs of recent Death Eater activity, there was no sign of Harry.' Godric's Hollow, Nott's Hideaway, the Northeast Bay; dozens of places where Voldemort had once struck or had once held his infamous Death Eater meetings at all came to mind, but each were turned away, having already been checked with no results.
Dumbledore sighed again and opened his door, wincing at the creak that came with it. Fawkes lifted his head lazily, no doubt wondering what his friend was doing up so late. Albus smiled wearily, stroking the beautiful bird's red feathers with his bony hand. Fawkes made a content purr deep in his throat, lowering its head back beneath his left wing to fall asleep.
"If only I could do so as easily," Albus murmured, stroking the bird one last time before walking to the portrait of Professor Dippet. The bald old wizard was still quite asleep when Albus pulled the hidden doorknob beneath Dippet's nose, swinging the portrait open.
The meeting room was empty but even as Albus shut the door behind him, a flurry of movement came from the fireplace and several wizards and witches stepped into the room.
Sirius and Remus, both looking as exhausted as humanely possible (a heart-stopper, because Remus, with his werewolf abilities, rarely tired) were of the first there. They tried to smile but settled with just collapsing in a chair. Sirius' head barely touched the large, ebony table in the room before soft snores started coming from him.
"Headmaster," Remus greeted but he didn't look much better than his friend. Dumbledore shushed him, motioning to a chair, and Remus took it gratefully. Remus managed to pull up Sirius' cowl as a witch entered.
Arabella shook the ashes from her robes and straightened her hair, giving a tired nod to Dumbledore before falling into her own chair. "May the night finally end," she muttered and Remus nodded in tired agreement.
There was a moment of waiting before the final members crawled through the fireplace, making the seating at the table a full count of eleven. 'There had once been fourteen'--Albus cut that thought off before the pain that always came with it appeared. Percy, the newest member, sat next to his parents and oldest brother Bill. Fletcher, Arabella, and Morgana, all old members, sat together.
He smiled, a bit forcibly so, and started the meeting. "It is unusual, I know, that I called such a late meeting, but it was necessary."
Sirius' snorted awake when Remus poked him in the gut.
"I know many of you are tired, but I prefer that everyone know of what has happened and spread the word as quickly as possible." Dumbledore lost his smile, alerting everyone in the room to the seriousness of the situation.
"This afternoon, Harry Potter was kidnapped."
"What?" Sirius exploded, jerking to his feet. His robes fell off in the movement, and several of the members gasped in recognition but he didn't notice. Sirius was gaping at the headmaster. "Please tell me this is a joke..."
"I'm afraid not, Sirius," Dumbledore replied gravely.
"Albus, do you know who that is?" Arabella screamed, bringing her wand up in defense but she didn't have anything to worry about because Sirius had again collapsed to his chair, not in exhaustion but in nerve-racking guilt and fear. "That's--"
"Yes, it's Sirius Black." Dumbledore ran a hand through his hair. "I haven't the time to fully explain this to you, but Sirius is innocent. James and Lily switched Secret Keepers at the last minute, charging Peter with the responsibility. I wish I could explain more fully but there isn't time."
Sirius gave a choked sob and Remus leaned over, muttering something. He only got a fierce shake of the head and when he tried to say something more, Sirius pulled away, curling his body together.
"I was in a meeting with the magical beings when I heard of it, and it was too late by then," Dumbledore continued. "It appears that someone, using Polyjuice again, took the form of Romania, the dragons' representative, to lead Harry into a trap. A Death Eater managed to get into the castle and, while we were still unaware, smuggled Harry out of Hogwarts."
Dumbledore rubbed his forehead again. "This came merely days after Harry confided to me information on a curse with no name but one that has the potential to end this war once and for all with no loss. He had also just retold the events of last year to the whole of the school plus the magical creatures who'd come to meet with me. I do not believe this is a coincidence."
"Magical species?" Percy sighed, looking much older than his years, The stress of spying on the Ministry for the Order had taken their toil, as well as the constant fear that Harry would suddenly appear and take him out. "Have they agreed to join us?"
"We're not here for that!" Sirius shouted, trying to get to his feet but was losing the struggle as Remus grabbed his arms, pulling him back down. "Let-me-go!" Sirius pulled free and glared at everyone in the room. "Harry's out there--missing--and all you can think about is some magical creature!"
"Sirius!" Dumbledore frowned and Sirius sulked back to his seat, once again falling beyond the conversation, no doubt conversing with his personal demons about all his faults.
Percy looked shaken and took a deep breath. "It's not that I don't care about Harry," he denied. "It's just that the Minister has just recently put some emphasis on capturing several species, like unicorns and pegasi, and I think that he'll start blaming them for You-Know-Who's attacks."
"That is what they feared," Dumbledore answered gravely. "The weakest, like the fae, have taken to hiding while the stronger, like dragons, have agreed to think about it but warn that should they be attacked by the Ministry, they'll fight back."
He took a shaky breath. "Harry has been gone for half a day; great men have broken under less. We must assume the best, prepare for the worst, and start our own searches immediately. Starting tomorrow, each member will be given a partner to work with. There cannot be any delays. Sirius, I'm sorry but you will have to return to your cell. We cannot have the Ministry blaming you again."
Sirius didn't appear to hear him at first but nodded once.
"That is all I can say. It is late, so I ask that each of you return to your homes or jail cells, whichever is the case, and get as much sleep as possible."
Everyone left feeling like they never should have come.
----------------------------
Harry looked around in confusion. The last thing he remembered was the Death Eaters, calling out "Crucio!"
As the memory came back to him, the room he was in turned a startling black color and the pain of that memory came flying back to him. Harry screamed in pain, willing the pain away-
And it was gone. Sweating and breathing heavily, Harry got back to his feet and looked around in surprise. He brought up another memory, this time thinking of when he won the Quidditch Cup. The room flared to life again, going into a comfortable pink color and Harry felt exactly as he did that night: ready to take on the world. "This is weird." His voice echoed off the walls.
"Tell me about it," someone's answered, her voice reverberating in the same way his did. *Pop* Hannah Abbot appeared, her hair down and looking quite confused. As soon as she saw Harry, she let out a squeal. "Harry Potter! There you are! Everyone's looking everywhere for you, at least I think so; where are you?"
He couldn't answer because *Pop* another girl appeared. "Hello?" Padma asked. She glanced around and blinked in shock. "Harry? Hannah? Where am I?"
"Don't look at me," Harry said when they both looked at him. "I wasn't here a second ago."
"Oh Harry!" Hannah exclaimed, rushing over to him. She seemed to float in the air, not able to move, and, frustrated, she reverted to reaching out to him. "What on earth happened to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"She means that it looks like you met the underside of a car," Padma answered, looking worried herself. "Look at you: cuts on your wrists, black eyes, bruises-"
"Funny. I thought Missy got rid of those," Harry muttered to himself, lifting a hand to touch his eye. He winced with a hiss. "Bugger. I think that whoever put me here should at least make me comfortable," Harry shouted. "It's the lesat you can do!" The room turned a shade darker, becoming scarlet.
"This is creepy." Hannah shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. "All we need right now is for-"
*Pop* "Bloody hell! Where am I?! Potter?! What are you doing here?" Draco shouted as he appeared. He looked around. "What is this? Some kind of trick?"
"Malfoy!" Harry's mouth dropped. "Now I remember!"
"Remember what?" Padma asked, silently thanking whatever it was that kept all of them from moving. Malfoy looked like he was about to string someone's neck.
"Where I am! I'm at-"
*Pop*
"Harry?" Ron asked, eyes wide. He reached out. "Is that really you?"
"Yes, it's him all right, Weasley," Malfoy sneered. He looked uncomfortable, glancing left and right. "I'd prefer if you kept your little reunion quiet. I, for one, need to get out of here."
"Is this some meeting of the Head Boys and Girls?" Hannah asked. "'Cause we're all here."
"That's true," Padma agreed. "But I could've sworn I was in my common room a second ago."
"Me too," Hannah, Ron, and Draco echoed at the same time. They glared at each other.
"Stop stealing my words, Malfoy," Ron snarled.
"Why would I do that, Weasley?" Draco shot back. "They're not worth anything."
"Hey!" Harry shouted. "Have you guys forgotten about me?"
"Always got to be the center of attention, don't you Potter?" Draco drawled but stopped short when he truly saw Harry's condition. "What have you been doing while you were gone, beating yourself with a hammer?"
"Blimey, Harry," Ron breathed. "Sirius's going to go ballistic."
"What?" Harry looked at himself. "There something I don't see?"
"Just those bruises there, your black eyes, deep cuts gushing blood here and there," Hannah listed off. "You know, just the things most people don't have. Like that gushing blood."
"It's not really 'gushing,'" Padma went on, examining Harry from afar. "In fact, I'd say that you, Harry, are envisioning your body in a sort of frozen state of being. Whatever happened to your body, your subconscious is marking it here."
"And here is?"
"Why, we're in a dream, of course," Padma answered Draco's question promptly.
Harry and Ron groaned. "What's with you and dreams, Harry?"
"Don't know," Harry groaned again, making way to bury his face in his hands.
"Harry!" Hannah gasped.
"What?" He lifted his face and they all witnessed it. Where his cheek had been smooth a moment before, a cut now sprang across, claiming the unmarked skin for its own. A few drops of blood slid down but, like what Padma had said, froze like tears. Seeing their gaping, Harry lifted a hand and wiped at his cheek, smearing the blood.
"Oh, gross, mate!" Ron paled.
"Jeez, it had to be the knife guy," Harry muttered. The room turned black again as Harry remembered the pain and-
"Ah!!!!!!! Stop it stop it stop it stop!" Hannah screamed, falling to her knees.
Surprised, Harry pulled away from the memory to see all four on the ground, gasping for breath.
"I want out, now!" Draco breathed, several shades paler.
"Wait, you all felt that?" Harry asked.
Ron coughed. "Felt it? It was like some bloody..." He shook his head, coughing again.
"What was that?" Padma asked, voice shrill from screaming.
"That was my memory," Harry explained, feeling even guiltier than ever. "But I didn't know-"
"Christ, Potter. Don't you think?" Draco shot out.
"I didn't know!" Harry yelled. "You think I'd honestly put you all through that on purpose? It's bad enough that I had to go through it." He took a deep breath and shook his head. "Anyway, that was the feeling of being under the Cruticus Curse."
"No wonder it's Unforgivable," Ron's voice was shaky. "Worst pain I ever felt."
To their surprise, Harry let out a bark of bitter laughter. "Worst pain?" he asked. "That's nothing. Try feeling it when there's more than one person cursing you. Don't worry, I'll try not to think about the pain that caused." His face was dark for a moment, and the room, which had turned lighter, went back to its dark color.
"Harry, I think that we're in a dream that you created," Padma said in a calm voice. "That's why it reflects your moods, your memories. So just try and think about why you called us here."
"I never thought I'd be at the mercy of Potter," Draco muttered to himself.
"Bloody hell. Don't even start with me, Malfoy," Harry bit out. "The last thing I remember is getting tortured by Voldemort and his cronies. I don't think that I had enough time to think, much less create some magical dream world, much less call Malfoy to it!"
The other four went quiet after his outburst.
"Listen, I'm sorry," Harry began.
"Don't be. I'd hate to think about how I'd act, being in your position." Ron shivered. "Torture? This doesn't seem real."
"Hey, I got the scars to prove it," Harry joked. "Besides, it's kind of like being back at the Dursleys. No food, people yelling at me, getting tortured--just the Dursleys carried to an extreme." But his face was pale. "Alright...the only thing I can think about that involves a dream is this dream I've been having about the founders and-"
He couldn't say anymore because the room took on the dream as soon as the words left his mouth. Except that it seemed to be frozen in the last scene. Harry gaped at it. "T-this is where it always ends."
He got up and walked over to Godric. "See, there's this war where everyone's against Salazar Slytherin. I'm guessing that this is the final battle, because everyone's going full out. Come on, you gotta see this."
The powers that be holding the others from moving were lifted, and they made their way through the battlefield to where Harry was standing. Even Draco looked shaken at the frozen images around them; the two dragons were clawing at each other; several goblins held their spears, about to impale a witch; an elf was in the process of hacking of the heads of a dozen snakes-
Harry stood at the top of a hill, looked at two men. One was standing with a proud, arrogant look on his face. His skin was pale, outlined by thick silver hair and with shining green eyes. The other was fallen to the ground with a phoenix hunched on his shoulder. He was tanned with black hair and blue eyes, looking the worse for wear.
Harry glanced over at the four students and pointed. "This," pointing to the first. "is Salazar Slytherin. And he's Godric Gryffindor," pointing to the second. "Right now, Gryffindor's about to say some all powerful curse that does something."
"Real helpful explanation, Potter," Draco drawled, getting his voice back.
Harry didn't seem to hear him, because he was walking to the two women nearby. "These two are Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw." Helga had her honey gold hair tied back in a braid, skin pale. Rowena had dark skin, a sharp contrast to the near white color of her hair. "They were the ones telling him to use this curse. And no, Malfoy, that's not it."
Harry took a deep breath. "I don't know what it all means, but they were going on about using a curse to finally finish the battle. Lady Rowena and Lady Helga were saying that Gryffindor had to use it, and that the phoenixes had 'agreed'. I didn't know what this meant until I found this curse in the library awhile ago, saying that it had only been used once and that it was so energy-consuming that almost half of the phoenix population had died, giving up their energy for this curse."
"But phoenixes don't die," Padma countered, taking her fascinated eyes from her founder. "At least, not forever. If they're killed, then they just get reborn from their own ashes."
"That's what the book mentioned, too. It said that not only did half of the phoenix population die, but that they're still giving up their energy to keep the curse up. It's that powerful."
"So, after this, it just ends?" Ron asked. Harry nodded and shrugged when Ron asked, "Why?"
Draco was walking in a circle around his founder and suddenly exclaimed, "What's this?"
"Oh." Harry wrinkled his nose. "That's Slytherin's dagger. You see, he and Gryffindor were in a sword fight, and Gryffindor's sword broke Slytherins. Just as Gryffindor was saying that he didn't want to kill Slytherin, Slytherin pulls this dagger out of no where and sticks it in Gryffindor's side. And it has this poison that's incurable. Pretty nasty guy, if you ask me. No honor or anything."
Draco looked hungrily at the dagger awhile longer.
"So while the guys were playing with their swords, what was Helga doing?" Hannah asked excitedly.
"She was apparating around like it was nothing!" Harry answered excitedly. "You should've seen her! Mostly, she was defensive: healing and shields. But no one could touch her!"
"And Rowena?" Padma asked, unable to keep the hint of excitement out of her voice.
Harry shook his head. "They were all too powerful for words!" Harry answered truthfully. "She took on this whole group of basilisks by herself , took them down with only two curses."
The two girls looked on with hero worship in their eyes while Ron took Harry aside. "Harry, we told Fred and them the whole story."
Harry blinked. "What?"
"We told them everything. The whole Quidditch team, Dean, Seamus, Lee, Neville. They all know. Is there anything we can do?"
"I-"
"We're helping, too," Hannah cut in, hearing the last of the conversation. She folded her arms rebelliously against her chest. "Added you to our house and all. So you're a Gryffindor-Hufflepuff and you better like it."
"Actually," Padma went on to say. "Better make that a Gryffindor-Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw." She blushed. "We sort of did the same thing, so you've got us Ravenclaws by your side as well."
"I-" Harry looked absolutely speechless, looking back and forth between the three with amazement. Off to the side, Draco stuffed his hands in his pockets forlornly, trying not to feel left out. "I really don't know what to say."
"That's the best part about it," Hannah replied cheerfully. "You don't have a say about it. Except for maybe some quick comments, you know.
Another two cuts had appeared on Harry's arms while no one noticed. "A quick comment?" Harry asked. "Like, get me out of here?"
Padma's mouth dropped open. "That's right! Where are you?"
"I'm at-"
"Potter, who's cutting you up?" Draco cut in harshly, drawing attention to the new cuts on Harry's arms.
Wincing, Harry gingerly brought his fingers up to touch the new wounds. "Oh no," he muttered. "They're going to put water on it."
"What?" Ron asked.
Harry looked up. "By now, they'll realize that I've fallen unconscious, so to wake me up, they'll put water on the wounds. It'll hurt enough to shock me back to consciousness."
"What's so bad about a little water?" Draco rebuked. "I put water on my cuts all the time."
"Salt water," Harry gritted his teeth as a fresh wave of pain attacked him and, consequently, on everyone else in the room. The frozen war scene disappeared and the room simply went black to reflect Harry's agony.
"Don't mean to do this to you," Harry smiled through the pain. "So I better just wake up, huh?"
"But Harry-" Ron blinked his eyes open to find himself lying down in bed. "AH!" He threw off the sheets and leaped out of bed, down the stairs and out into the hall. "-where are you?"
With any luck, he'd run into a professor (hopefully not Snape) who'd be able to take him to the headmaster. Harry would probably try and take this into his own hands.
In two other rooms, Hannah and Padma were doing the exact same thing. But deep in the dungeons, Draco clenched his fists and lay back down, willing himself not to try and help Potter.
"The other three will help him," Draco muttered to himself, trying to ease his conscience as he rolled over to go back to sleep. But he couldn't. "Bloody hell, I'm going to regret this." Draco hissed as he rolled from the bed, threw on a robe, and went for Professor Snape.