Disclaimer: All characters and concepts belong to J.K. Rowling. Please don't borrow from this story without permission.
The Secret Keeper XIV
The stark deafening cry of gulls and guillemots echoed off the steep cliff-face, almost drowning out the sound of the towering waves crashing ruthlessly against the rocky island. High above the wind-swept cliffs resided the impenetrable fortress of Azkaban, it's smooth black walls encrusted with salt spray. As Ron approached the imposing façade he considered simply dropping off his broomstick and taking his chances in the turbulent waters below, but he could sense Draco Malfoy's wand aimed constantly at his back and knew that there was no hope of escape. Malfoy flew close behind him, occasionally sweeping up beside him to direct his broomstick. As his captor's robes whipped in the wind, Ron couldn't help but notice the Dark Mark branded upon his white arm. Ron swallowed nervously, realising to his surprise that, much as he detested Malfoy, he had never expected him to sink to such a low as this. Surely Dumbledore would never have admitted a student who he felt was in danger of turning to the Dark side. However, as Ron reluctantly reminded himself, Dumbledore had been wrong before.
Up until now, Ron had always regarded Malfoy more as a snob
and a bully than an evil dark wizard, an attention-seeker whose bite was far
worse than his bark. The realisation that he was now a Death Eater was
extremely disturbing and Ron was terrified by the fact that he really didn't
know just how evil Malfoy could be. He won't actually kill me, surely…
Ron slowly became aware of a terrible coldness creeping over his body as Malfoy directed him over the enormous walls and into a concrete courtyard behind them. Dementors. His thoughts strayed suddenly to Harry, and he wondered where he could be. Perhaps he was looking for him. That would certainly be a Harry kind of thing to do, stupid and reckless, but brave. His optimism soon vanished, however, with the reminder that he was in Azkaban. As if Harry could rescue him there! As if Harry would even knew where it was! Ron knew it was pointless to hope to be saved. He had gone too far this time. There would be no Dumbledore, no Harry, no Professor Lupin to come rushing to his aid now.
The two broomsticks descended to land in the grey courtyard. Looking upward, Ron could see that the charcoal prison walls were in fact studded with small square windows, bounded with metal bars. He tried not to panic as Malfoy pulled him from his broom and pushed him between a pair of Death Eaters. He was determined not to give Malfoy the satisfaction of seeing him lose his nerves. Defiantly, he tore himself from the harsh grip of the two Death Eaters and walked onward, down the dark stone corridor, trying to blot out the screams emanating from the line of cells on either side. A sense of complete unreality seemed to have engulfed him, and as he lost his footing in a hidden groove in the floor, he didn't notice the strained expression directed at him by the wizard to his left, nor did he notice that the hand that steadied him had a strange silvery translucence about it.
***
Harry's bed was unbearably cold. No matter how he tossed and
turned on the hard mattress, the blankets refused to let any heat into his
frozen body. Aunt Petunia must have turned off his radiator again, he thought
bitterly as he uttered a quiet groan. The sound seemed surprisingly loud to his
ears and it unfortunately attracted the attention of Dudley, who immediately
proceeded to pull at his pyjamas and shake him rudely. No. Go away! It's too
cold…He waved his arms wildly to fend off the unwelcome disturbance and
turned over, ready to go back to sleep. There was no way he was getting up to
turn on the heating. It was too cold… As he drifted off to sleep he could hear
his aunt's annoyed voice calling him to get up…Ignore it, too cold…
Before long, Harry fell back into a troubled and uncomfortable sleep, struggling to push away the hands that tried to rouse him. His mother was screaming. She needed his help. Was there nothing he could do?
"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"
"Stand aside, you silly girl…stand aside now…"
"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me
instead…Please…have mercy…have mercy…"
Voldemort!
With a sharp intake of breath, Harry started up from his sleep and gazed around in confusion. The first things his tired mind registered were the piercing cold and the dreadful feeling of exhaustion that seemed to permeate his bones, an achingly familiar sensation. Dementors? God, where am I? It didn't take him long to realise that this wasn't Privet Drive and that the woman who had been shaking him incessantly was not his Aunt Petunia. He was lying in straw covered with Arabella's light cloak in a dark cell measuring little more than ten feet across. He checked the dirty straw to see if his wand was concealed within it, but, not surprisingly, it had been taken. A small amount of light filtered in through a tiny square window high up on the opposite wall, but apart from that, the only light in the room came from a small orange glow at the base of the metal door.
Arabella had leapt back at his sudden awakening and was now looking at him with anxious eyes. As his memory returned, Harry frantically searched for Sirius, his gaze finally resting on a black form huddled pitifully in the corner. Harry instantly leapt to his feet, shuddering at the strange weak sensation in his legs that the dementors inflicted upon him, and hurried over to his godfather, who seemed to be sleeping. Instinctively, he reached out to wake him up, only to feel his godmother restraining his hand.
"No, Harry, he's better off asleep. Just leave him be."
"Where are we? I can sense dementors here…"
"Yes, I can feel them too. I think we're in Azkaban, so it's best not to wake him."
"Azkaban? Why on earth…"
"It looks like the dementors have decided where their loyalties lie. Dumbledore was afraid of this happening…"
"They've joined Voldemort? This is awful… We have to get out!"
"There's no way out, Harry. Sirius is the only Animagus and I still don't think he'd be able to escape. Wormtail knows about Padfoot, so they'll be ready for him. Besides, you can see the effect the dementors have on him…He's in no condition to get us out of here."
Harry looked at his godfather and had to agree. He looked terrible, worse than Harry had ever seen him, even more pitiable than in his starved appearance at their encounter in the Shrieking Shack a year ago. His gaunt face was coated in sweat and tears, with his damp hair plastered across it, and he was huddled tightly in a ball, squeezed as far into the corner at the greatest distance from the dementors as possible. Harry quickly looked away, ashamed at his unfair advantage in seeing his normally strong and courageous godfather in such a pathetic state. Harry fully understood what he must be going through, having had his own traumatic experiences of dementors, but he knew that for Sirius it would be much worse for he had horrors in his past that were far greater than Harry's, or at least so Harry believed. He had lost two of his closest friends, friends that might have lived but for his own inadvertent blunder, and to make matters worse, had been betrayed by two other friends, imprisoned for twelve years and separated from the woman he loved and the child he was to rear. He had seen his entire reputation as an honourable man, a reputation that had evolved mainly through his association with James Potter, be replaced in the media by the image of an insane, untrustworthy Death Eater, which must have been agony for a man of such great integrity as Sirius. It was unsurprising, therefore, that his defences had been worn down, abandoned as he was with nothing but his most painful memories.
The light from the window was beginning to fade, and as
Harry became more aware of the silence around him, so despair began to take
hold in his mind. He sat down miserably on the straw near Arabella and
immediately started to shiver with the chill. Deciding it would be
ungentlemanly for him to keep her cloak, he returned it uncertainly to
Arabella, blushing at his awkwardness. He never really knew how to act around
the girls at school, expecting them to laugh at him for being chivalrous or
old-fashioned. The Yule Ball had been a ridiculous affair, and he had ended up
with Ron as his date for most of the evening. An unlikely smile began to form
on Harry's parched lips as he remembered the look on Ron's face when Hermione
had appeared, in a dazzling blue gown, with Viktor Krum at her side. Poor
Ron. I hope he's okay…In an attempt to dispel his fears, he tried to recall
the image of Hermione, descending the steps into the hallway of Hogwarts, so beautiful
with her hair sparkling, but was shocked as the memory refused to surface. He
knew it had to be in his mind somewhere, but it was if it had somehow been
locked away from his control. Unexpectedly, the calm but pained voice of Remus
Lupin came into his ears, "Get too near a dementor and every good feeling,
every happy memory, will be sucked out of you. If it can, the dementor will
feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself-soulless and
evil. You'll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life…"
"Why don't they just kill us and get it over with?" he asked bitterly.
"No doubt You-Know-Who has some unfinished business with you, Harry. As for Sirius and I, well…"
"He won't kill you", Harry stated evenly, surprised at his own conviction, "unless I refuse to give him what he wants."
"What do you mean? Do you have something he wants?"
"No, at least not anymore. I have to get my wand back!"
"You're being very cryptic, Harry! What are you talking about?"
Harry looked at Arabella uncertainly, remembering
Dumbledore's advice not to speak of the Penna to anyone, no matter how
trustworthy, however, he couldn't see any point in keeping it to himself if he
was probably going to die anyway. Besides, it might cheer Arabella up to be
told that her jokes about Lily being related to Godric Gryffindor were not so
ridiculous afterall. I might as well tell her, but I'll have to tell Sirius
too…
"I want to tell you and Sirius together. Can I wake him?"
"Is it really important, Harry?"
Harry nodded in affirmation and, before waiting for
permission, hurried over and began to shake Sirius awake and call his name. He
was surprised to see that he was already awake, but his glazed eyes remained
fixed on the glow of light emanating from underneath the door of the cell. He
did not look up as Harry called him, but quietly whispered his godson's name,
as though uncertain if he were really there. Come on, Sirius, snap out of
it!
"Sirius, its me. Come on, you have to get up!
At first Sirius only responded by shaking his head and closing his eyes, trying to shut out the grim reality. Harry was about to give up and turn away, when suddenly, Sirius' eyes fluttered open and he sat bolt upright, grabbing Harry by the scruff of the neck.
"Harry! You're not supposed to be here! He's at Hogwarts…Wormtail…Pettigrew… He's at Hogwarts…"
Harry struggled to free himself from his godfather's tight grip, trying to avoid the alarmed gleam in his crazed eyes. Evidently, Sirius was remembering the year before, when he had realised that Wormtail was masquerading as Ron's pet rat Scabbers.
"No, that was last year, remember? Come on, Sirius, think! We need your help to get out of here…"
For a moment, Sirius looked at him uncomprehending, but gradually his terrified expression began to relax and he seemed to become a little more human. He looked over at Arabella, who had started weeping quietly, and this stirred his confused mind into realization. Gripping Harry's shoulder for support he got shakily to his feet and walked over to embrace Arabella, whispering, "It's okay, 'Bella, I'm here. We'll get out…". He looked over her trembling form at Harry, who seemed surprisingly calm considering what Remus had told him about his reactions to dementors in the past.
"Are you alright?" he asked gruffly.
"Yeah, just a bit cold. What about you?"
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Being back here just brought back some bad memories… How long have we been here?"
"I'm not sure. A few hours, maybe-"
"Damn! My wand's missing. Yours too?"
Harry nodded, "We've got to get them back, Sirius!"
"Well, they're not going to help us much in here, anyway. This room seems to have a magic inhibiting charm on it-I can't transform."
Harry noticed that Sirius seemed very uncomfortable as he said this. No doubt he had come to look upon his skill as an Animagus as an anchor that had kept him sane over twelve years of mental imprisonment.
"I guess my Patronus wouldn't work either, then", Harry added solicitously.
Sirius smiled at his obvious attempt to comfort him.
"Remus told me you had mastered your Patronus. That's very impressive, Harry. You know, to be honest, I still can't conjure a decent Patronus!"
Harry's mouth opened in surprise.
"I know…I should be ashamed of myself! James must have spent months trying to drag one out of me, but it never really worked. I don't know what I was doing wrong. It only took Moony a week to get it, of course, but then he always was a teacher's pet! It was so embarrassing, but I think Wormtail was grateful not to be the only incompetent wizard-"
"You're hardly incompetent, Sirius! Remus told me that nearly all wizards have difficulty with it."
"I'd like to believe that! 'But it doesn't matter, really, since I still have Padfoot to fall back on, or at least I had Padfoot to fall back on…"
"Still, though, you should learn how to do it. I'll tell you what! You show me how to make Avada kedavra more powerful, and I'll show you how to conjure up a decent Patronus…"
"Excuse me, you two, but can I just point out that we are locked in a prison cell at Azkaban, at the evil clutches of the Dark Lord, and that neither of you have a wand?" Arabella interrupted archly, smiling at how the mood of despair had inexplicably been lifted.
"'And can I just point out that you have no imagination, Mrs. Figg?" Sirius stated boldly, winking conspiratorially at Harry, "Who needs a wand, anyway?"
"Right then!" Harry began, "This is what I do when I want to conjure a Patronus…"
***
Remus Lupin rushed through the heavy doors of Hogwarts,
nearly tripping on the loose hem of his muggle trousers, and ran up the wide
sweeping staircase to the first floor. He hurried down the cool corridors and,
without thinking, found himself standing stupidly at the door of his old
office. You're getting old and forgetful, Lupin. This isn't Dumbledore's
office! Frowning, he turned back around and finally made his way to the
stone gargoyle, only to realise that he had forgotten the password. Oh
great! What was it again?…
"Um…Cherry drop…Lemon rittleberries…Fizzing whizzbee…Oh, come on! Just open, will you?… I don't know, um, cheesy merrybeans….strawberry socks!"
The gargoyle suddenly sprang to life and opened up, revealing the revolving staircase within. Lupin gasped as he ascended upward, repeating, "Strawberry socks!", to himself in wonder. Where on earth does he think these up?… 'And they say You-Know-Who is afraid of him! Presently he arrived at the office. He knocked politely before entering.
"Ah, Remus, you're here. Good. I heard about the incident at Godric's Hollow-"
"Incident?" Remus asked innocently, sensing the dread building up in his stomach.
"Yes. I thought you and Sirius would have heard about it, since you were at the Ministry. It would appear the Death Eaters received news of Harry's visit to the house. They attacked a short time ago, and Harry and Arabella Figg are missing."
"That's awful! I'd no idea. What's being done?"
"Luckily there was no shortage of people to help, since the members of the Order of the Phoenix had already been recalled to help search for Mr. Weasley. They're presently on their way to Azkaban, where I am sure Voldemort is detaining Harry. No doubt Mr. Weasley will be headed in that direction anyway. In the meantime, I'd like you and Sirius to-"
"Sirius went to Godric's Hollow to find Harry! He must have been taken too-"
Dumbledore seemed unsurprised at this new development and looked at him curiously, his eyes wandering down to rest on the small piece of parchment Remus was twitching nervously in his hands. Remus suddenly remembered the purpose of his visit, and tried not to worry about his friend. Sirius could take care of himself.
"Oh, I came to show you this. We found it hidden in Percy Weasley's office, behind some obscure files on quidditch. I really don't know what to make of it. Here…"
The headmaster examined the document carefully and fell silent.
"Has Sirius seen this?"
Remus nodded, "Yes. 'That's why he ran off to see Harry. He wanted to deliver the good news…Is it good news, Albus?"
"For some it is, but for Cornelius Fudge I suspect not…"
"I don't understand it, Professor. Why did Sirius spend twelve years in prison, if Fudge pardoned him?"
"I'm not sure yet, Remus, nor do I know what this, "Irrefutable evidence", spoken of can be. It's a shame our old friend Bartemius Crouch is no longer with us. No doubt he played some part in filing this away for Minister Fudge. Perhaps Mundungus Fletcher will be able to help, however. He oversaw Crouch's running of the Department at that time, I believe, in his capacity as Secretary to the Vice-Minister of Magic…"
Fletcher…Suddenly Remus recalled Arthur Weasley's words to him at the Ministry. Unfortunately he hadn't been paying much attention at the time, so engrossed was he in reading Sirius' pardon, but hadn't he said that Fletcher had turned up at the Burrow, acted strangely, and then left for Godric's Hollow? Something's not right here… He felt Dumbledore's considering eye searching his face. As he looked up at the old wizard, Dumbledore observed him keenly.
"What are you thinking, Remus?"
"I'm not sure. Something just doesn't seem right about all this. Arthur Weasley mentioned something about Mundungus going to the Burrow to find Harry, and then hurrying off to Godric's Hollow. Next thing we hear is that the Death Eaters have somehow gotten wind of Harry's presence there too. Now Harry's missing, along with Sirius and Arabella…"
"You think Fletcher may have betrayed us?" Dumbledore asked him sharply.
"Perhaps… It won't be the first time he has betrayed Sirius, and if he was working at the Ministry when this evidence was found, it seems plausible that he might have concealed it in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. I mean, it's not exactly at the forefront of the Ministry's business. It seems a pretty good place to hide information to me…"
"I believe you may be right, Remus, although it pains me to admit it. There is nothing we do about it at present, however. I shall visit Fudge and confront him. He won't lie to me."
"Is there anything I can do, Albus?"
"Yes, Remus. I would like you to go to Godric's Hollow and ensure that none of Voldemort's followers have remained. When you've done that, wait in the living room. I shall join you there shortly…"
***
In their dark cell at Azkaban, Harry had just finished teaching his godfather all he could remember about the correct method of conjuring a Patronus. Sirius had listened intently, and had finally deduced that his past inability to perfect the spell was probably just as a result of his lack of conviction. Harry's story of how he had only gained the confidence to perform it through seeing his future self doing so had amazed Sirius, and caused him to sigh because of all the interesting adventures of his godson he had never had the opportunity of asking about.
"Well, Harry. We'll see how good a teacher you are when we get out of here. I can't wait to see what my shapeless white cloud will turn into, although knowing my luck it'll just be a fish, or something completely useless at defending me… "
Harry laughed as the image of his godfather swinging a dead fish at a group of dementors came into his head.
"It's your turn now, Sirius. Tell me how to improve the Killing Curse!"
"I don't know, Harry. Wouldn't you prefer me to teach you how to make women's clothes transparent? I mean, killing Death Eaters is all well and good, but there are far more important uses of magic…"
"Sirius!" scolded Arabella jokingly, "Don't mind him, Harry! He's no better at that spell than Expecto Patronum. He bullied James and Remus into trying it on poor Severus Snape once. I still can't get rid of the image of Snape's internal organs walking around the place-"
"So we went a bit too far… How were we to know that it wouldn't stop at his skin?"
"-for two months…No wonder he was always so scared of you!"
"It was just a joke. Anyway, we paid our penance: 'took us two whole weeks to clean all those floors by hand, and it certainly didn't help having you and Lily swanning around with your smug, we're-such-well-behaved-students faces on. Mind you, it did give us the opportunity to become better acquainted with the school's layout…", Sirius explained contritely, smiling knowingly at Harry.
"You'll have to show me that one when we get out of here!"
"Harry! He will do no such thing, will you Sirius?"
"I wouldn't dare…Okay, Harry. The incantation is relatively simple, just, "Avada kedavra solo infinitum!". The curse works the same way as the one Malfoy hit you with at Privet Drive. You're concentrating all its power on one area of the body. Aim for the heart or the brain, and remember what I told you about selecting a really horrible, painful memory…"
"Avada kedavra solo infinitum! Right, that sounds easy enough-"
"It's not easy, Harry. Moony and I spent hours at the Order's headquarters practising with the others. There were at least two dozen witches and wizards there, and nobody could manage it. Alastor Moody says it can't be applied to Avada kedavra, and nobody knows more about the Unforgivable curses than him."
"Oh…"
Harry felt his spirits sink. He had been starting to think
that he might have a chance of beating Voldemort if only he could get his wand
back, but Sirius' words didn't fill him with confidence. The cell seemed to
grow colder as the three sat in silence, digesting this discouraging piece of
news. Harry suddenly started feeling frightened. What if Voldemort realised
the Penna was in his wand? Would he become more powerful than Dumbledore?
Harry tried not to think about it, but felt a twinge of guilt at having failed
in his duty to protect the Penna. He felt certain that none of his ancestors
would have let it fall into the hands of an evil dark wizard. His mother had
died defending it. Would he have to do the same? I've got to do something. I
can't just sit here… Maybe if Sirius and Arabella understand what's at stake
they'll think of something…
"There's something I have to tell the two of you. It's about my Mum-"
The cell door suddenly opened and a black-robed wizard stepped in, flanked by several dementors. Harry felt his blood run cold as the room around him began to spin and his mother's screams reverberated in his head. He was falling, falling through the swirling mist that surrounded him, into dark oblivion, aware of nothing but the piercing cold and the cruel voice torturing his mother. However, all of a sudden there was another voice, a woman, screaming not in fear, but in anger.
"Get them out of here! You're hurting them!"
The mist began to subside, and was gradually replaced by the dim surroundings of the cell in Azkaban. Harry found that he was lying on the floor, shivering. He could feel his face wet with perspiration and tears. Moaning softly, he stirred weakly on the hard floor, only to be raised roughly to his feet by a dark figure. It had a silver arm. Wormtail! Harry stood trembling, trying to make his vision focus. The dementors seemed to have moved out into the corridor following Arabella's outburst, while Sirius had retreated back into his corner of the cell, with his face hidden in his hands. Harry called his name in a hollow, exhausted voice, which seemed to attract his attention.
"Sirius! I won't let him hurt anyone, no matter what…"
"Come on, Potter!"
Harry turned reluctantly and was pulled out of the cell by Wormtail. He heard the cell door shutting behind him as he was ushered out into the long corridor, the dementors retreating at his captor's commands. Just as he began to walk to whatever fate awaited him, however, he felt Wormtail push someone up to walk alongside him. Turning, he rubbed his eyes to make sense of the red blob in front of him.
"Ron?" he exclaimed incredulously, "What are you doing here?"
A/N: Well, there's not much point in my thanking people for reviewing, since ff.net has been all screwed up, and only two people managed to review, the wonderful Coqui, and I can't imagine how she did it, just good timing, I guess, and Rede, who completely amazed me by going to the trouble of finding my email address. Thank you both so much. If there were prize money of a thousand galleons it would go to you… Everyone please make an effort to review this chapter, if you can, as I've been very unfortunate with this fic in terms of ff.net breaking down, changing to chaptering, deleting reviews for three chapters etc. If lots of you review, I'll get the next part up really quickly, I promise J.
Pleiades.
