Chapter Eight: The Dark Knights
Harry stood in the cold mausoleum. The place was packed. Ron had been very popular. Hermione was conspicuous in her absence. She'd gone into labor when she was told what happened. The boy she gave birth to looked just like his father.
Harry glanced at the stunned and wooden faces. The Weasleys, all of them, looked shocked. Christmas would never be the same for them, Harry thought. The wizard conducting the funeral service finally shut the hell up and people began to file out of the mausoleum.
Harry stood with Sirius and Christopher in the snow. Sirius still looked like he'd been stunned. Nearby, Harry saw Draco, Severus and Amethyst. They looked expressionless, as they almost always did in public, but Harry knew that they were just as upset as everyone else.
Molly Weasley stopped as she walked past them. She stopped and looked between Harry and Sirius. "You were supposed to help him." She said in a dead sort of voice. She looked directly into Harry's eyes. "You killed my son!" she hissed and slapped him hard across the face. Harry's head flew to the right, but he kept to his feet. Arthur Weasley just looked at Harry stonily as he led his wife away. Ginney was crying and did not appear to see anyone as she passed them. Charley and Percy passed them without looking at them. Fred, George and Bill also passed, but looked at them with something close to understanding.
Ablus Dumbledore stood off by himself. Harry caught the message in his eyes before Dumbledore simply disappeared into thin air.
Sirius put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Let's go." he said, quietly.
They left.
They met again that night, in Severus and Amethysts library. Severus and Amethyst bookended the fireplace, their arms folded over their chests. Sirius paced. Draco stood by the window, looking out at the increasing ferocity of the blizzard. Dumbledore sat at Severus desk, watching them.
"Tell me what happened again." Dumbledore said, sadly.
"He recieved an owl ten days ago, just before nine o'clock." Sirius said, obviously tired of repeating the story. "I didn't see what it said. He pocketed it and told me he had something he needed to take care of and he'd be back about lunchtime. I didn't see him again until Draco and Harry found him."
"He was hit with the Verbera Curse, the Quazzo Curse, the Cruciatus Curse and the Abrumpto Curse." Severus said. "They put him in a world of hurt before they dumped him in front of the warehouse."
"No Dark Mark was cast." Dumbledore asked. He was looking very pensive.
"No." Severus said.
Draco turned from the window. Robes and a cloak were draped over his arms. He walked to the desk and laid them on it. He fumbled in a pocket of the robes a moment before finding it. He held the piece of parchment out for Dumbledore. Dumbledore read from it:
They are neither gone nor forgotten. They have a new Lord and Perosus demands the blood of his adopted enemy, Harry Potter. If you want to save your friend, be in Hyde Park this morning by nine. Tell no one or Harry Potter will be worse than dead.
JJ - The Dark Knights
"You found this with his body?" Dumbledore was looking intensely at Draco now.
"Yes. I took his cloak and cape off of him before I took him inside. He died there. His wand was missing." Draco said, woodenly.
Severus moved to Draco's side and held his hand out for the note. Dumbledore gave it to him and he read it several times. "Who else has handled this, Draco?" he asked, not looking at him.
"You, Dumbledore, me and Ron. Before that, I don't know." Draco said.
Severus laid the parchment on the desk and pulled out his wand. "Contrecto." he said.
Nothing happened. Severus frowned down at the parchment. Amethyst joined him and together they touched their wands to the paper. "Contrecto."
A feeble shadow lifted from the parchment and then fell, as if exhausted back into the parchment.
"Albus." Severus said. Dumbledore pulled out his wand and touched it to the parchment.
"Contrecto." Severus, Amethysts and Dumbledore's voices were one.
A low light came from the paper. Sirius stopped pacing and joined the others at the desk. A shadow rose from the paper and floated above it. It was a shadowy Severus, holding the parchment, which faded after about thirty seconds. Then a second shadow began to rise. Dumbledore. Then Draco. Ron. An owl.
"Come now." Severus mumbled, under his breath.
The shadows of a man and a woman rose from the parchment. They seemed to be leaning over it, a quill in the mans hand. The both looked up for a moment and their faces became clear.
"Congelo" Amethyst said quickly, and the shadow did not fade, like the others, but remained frozen.
The sound of a door closing brought them back to the attention. Christopher was walking in. He watched them watching him and said. "I know I'm late, but -" and he stopped and stared at the gap between Draco and Severus.
"Jarod and Jade Packer." He breathed.
"Quite right, Mister Starling." Dumbledore said.
Draco and Amethyst were the only ones looking lost. Dumbledore explained. "Jarod and Jade were students at Hogwarts. They are after your time, Amethyst but before Draco's time."
"They were troublemakers." Snape hissed.
"Slytherins?" Draco assumed.
"Actually, Jarod was a Ravenclaw and Jade was a Hufflepuff." Dumbledore said, a slight smile on his face. "Not the first set of twins to wind up in different houses."
"They never became Death Eaters, though I would have bet everything that they were simply unmarked supporters." Snape said.
"So they wrote this note." Draco said, snarling.
"Yes." Snape said. "It would appear that the children of the Death Eaters have joined together with this Perosus to form the Dark Knights."
"And I must charge the Taipan with dealing with them." Dumbledore said. He looked at them all in turn. "The death of Ron Weasley is a tragic thing, but it will become a mere trifle if we cannot stop the Dark Knights before they strike again." He looked at Sirius and Christopher. "You two find Jarod and Jade and see if you can discover what they are up to. Do nothing right now. Christopher, you had best make the initial contact." Christopher nodded and he and Sirius left.
"Draco," Dumbledore said, "You watch Harry. Don't let him do anything rash. Talk to him and see if he is in any condition to be of any assistance."
Draco nodded, turned on his heel and left.
"You two begin preparations," and here Dumbledore paused. "Just in case."
The Snapes nodded. The left the room for other parts of their home. Dumbledore remained at the desk, wondering at the future.
"So where the hell were you?" Sirius asked, giving Christopher a sidelong glance.
"I was otherwise occupied." Christopher said, glaring out the window of the 1960 Jaguar E-Type.
"Otherwise occupied." Sirius repeated. He was accelerating down the deserted road. "With whom?"
"Are you asking me if I was with Taja?" Christopher asked. "I was, but not the way I'd have preferred."
Sirius took a corner fast enough to fishtail. "Really?" he said, mildly. "So you are telling me that you have never slept with Taja?"
Christopher glanced at Sirius. "Oh, I'm not telling you anything of the sort." he said. "I am telling you that I have not come from her bed this time."
Sirius took his eyes off of the road and stared at Christopher. He was going 200 km/h and amazed Christopher by not getting them killed.
"Do you mind?" Christopher said, trying to keep the shaking from his voice.
Sirius grinned and put his eyes back on the road. "Never mind Taja right now." he said. "Let's talk about Jarod and Jade."
"Jarod is a nasty son-of-a-bitch." Christopher said. "For that, so is Jade. But Jade," and here he paused. "Jade is the more dangerous." he finished after some consideration.
"You were lovers." Sirius half asked.
Christopher sighed. "Off and on for the last ten years." he said. "More off than on since the fall of the Dark Lord."
"Why?" Sirius asked. "And will it keep you from contacting her?" He'd slowed the Jaguar to a more manageable speed, and noticed Christopher visibly relax.
"No, she likes what I have to offer her." Christopher said. "But she isn't much into sharing, so I suppose that leaves you stuck with Jarod."
"Maybe," Sirius said, a half smile on his lips. "Does she like dogs?"
Harry stopped his pacing when Draco came in the door. He looked at the contrast of the snow on the black hood of the cloak and the pale face and hair inside the hood and his heart skipped.
"Well?" Harry asked. "Who did it? Who killed Ron?"
Draco took off his cloak off and threw it over one of the oversized chairs in their living room. He bit his lower lip a moment before he said. "I'm not going to tell you right now." he said, carefully.
Harry's jaw dropped. "Why not?" he demanded.
"Because the Taipan doesn't need you flying off the handle, that's why." Draco said, "Ron was your best friend. You're a little too close to this. You need to separate yourself if your going to help us on this."
Harry stared at Draco. Draco's calm could be contagious, and Harry allowed the calm, drawling voice to wash over him. Harry took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. He replaced his glasses and just stood still, looking at Draco.
Draco walked over to Harry and kissed him gently. "There are things we need to do before anything else. You probably won't like some of them. Might not like any of them, actually, but you're going to have to trust me, Potter."
Harry looked into the grey eyes and nodded. "Whatever you need to do."
Draco ran his fingers through Harry's untidy hair. "Come with me." he said and walked past Harry into their bedroom (they'd decided long ago to share a single bed instead of flitting across the hall to each others room). He motioned tot he bed and Harry lay down.
Draco left the room and Harry listened to him preparing something in his workroom. A tinkling of bottles. The thud of the pestle in the mortar. Draco returned with a glass of water which was tinted blue.
"Drink it. It'll help you sleep."
Harry looked up at him.
"What I need to do would hurt you a great deal if I allowed you to just sleep naturally. I don't want to cause you pain, Potter. You know that."
Harry drank the light blue liquid down in a few swallows an immediately felt his eyes get heavy. The last thing he remembered was the feeling of his lovers lips on his and a whispered. "Goodbye."
Harry stood in the cold mausoleum. The place was packed. Ron had been very popular. Hermione was conspicuous in her absence. She'd gone into labor when she was told what happened. The boy she gave birth to looked just like his father.
Harry glanced at the stunned and wooden faces. The Weasleys, all of them, looked shocked. Christmas would never be the same for them, Harry thought. The wizard conducting the funeral service finally shut the hell up and people began to file out of the mausoleum.
Harry stood with Sirius and Christopher in the snow. Sirius still looked like he'd been stunned. Nearby, Harry saw Draco, Severus and Amethyst. They looked expressionless, as they almost always did in public, but Harry knew that they were just as upset as everyone else.
Molly Weasley stopped as she walked past them. She stopped and looked between Harry and Sirius. "You were supposed to help him." She said in a dead sort of voice. She looked directly into Harry's eyes. "You killed my son!" she hissed and slapped him hard across the face. Harry's head flew to the right, but he kept to his feet. Arthur Weasley just looked at Harry stonily as he led his wife away. Ginney was crying and did not appear to see anyone as she passed them. Charley and Percy passed them without looking at them. Fred, George and Bill also passed, but looked at them with something close to understanding.
Ablus Dumbledore stood off by himself. Harry caught the message in his eyes before Dumbledore simply disappeared into thin air.
Sirius put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Let's go." he said, quietly.
They left.
They met again that night, in Severus and Amethysts library. Severus and Amethyst bookended the fireplace, their arms folded over their chests. Sirius paced. Draco stood by the window, looking out at the increasing ferocity of the blizzard. Dumbledore sat at Severus desk, watching them.
"Tell me what happened again." Dumbledore said, sadly.
"He recieved an owl ten days ago, just before nine o'clock." Sirius said, obviously tired of repeating the story. "I didn't see what it said. He pocketed it and told me he had something he needed to take care of and he'd be back about lunchtime. I didn't see him again until Draco and Harry found him."
"He was hit with the Verbera Curse, the Quazzo Curse, the Cruciatus Curse and the Abrumpto Curse." Severus said. "They put him in a world of hurt before they dumped him in front of the warehouse."
"No Dark Mark was cast." Dumbledore asked. He was looking very pensive.
"No." Severus said.
Draco turned from the window. Robes and a cloak were draped over his arms. He walked to the desk and laid them on it. He fumbled in a pocket of the robes a moment before finding it. He held the piece of parchment out for Dumbledore. Dumbledore read from it:
They are neither gone nor forgotten. They have a new Lord and Perosus demands the blood of his adopted enemy, Harry Potter. If you want to save your friend, be in Hyde Park this morning by nine. Tell no one or Harry Potter will be worse than dead.
JJ - The Dark Knights
"You found this with his body?" Dumbledore was looking intensely at Draco now.
"Yes. I took his cloak and cape off of him before I took him inside. He died there. His wand was missing." Draco said, woodenly.
Severus moved to Draco's side and held his hand out for the note. Dumbledore gave it to him and he read it several times. "Who else has handled this, Draco?" he asked, not looking at him.
"You, Dumbledore, me and Ron. Before that, I don't know." Draco said.
Severus laid the parchment on the desk and pulled out his wand. "Contrecto." he said.
Nothing happened. Severus frowned down at the parchment. Amethyst joined him and together they touched their wands to the paper. "Contrecto."
A feeble shadow lifted from the parchment and then fell, as if exhausted back into the parchment.
"Albus." Severus said. Dumbledore pulled out his wand and touched it to the parchment.
"Contrecto." Severus, Amethysts and Dumbledore's voices were one.
A low light came from the paper. Sirius stopped pacing and joined the others at the desk. A shadow rose from the paper and floated above it. It was a shadowy Severus, holding the parchment, which faded after about thirty seconds. Then a second shadow began to rise. Dumbledore. Then Draco. Ron. An owl.
"Come now." Severus mumbled, under his breath.
The shadows of a man and a woman rose from the parchment. They seemed to be leaning over it, a quill in the mans hand. The both looked up for a moment and their faces became clear.
"Congelo" Amethyst said quickly, and the shadow did not fade, like the others, but remained frozen.
The sound of a door closing brought them back to the attention. Christopher was walking in. He watched them watching him and said. "I know I'm late, but -" and he stopped and stared at the gap between Draco and Severus.
"Jarod and Jade Packer." He breathed.
"Quite right, Mister Starling." Dumbledore said.
Draco and Amethyst were the only ones looking lost. Dumbledore explained. "Jarod and Jade were students at Hogwarts. They are after your time, Amethyst but before Draco's time."
"They were troublemakers." Snape hissed.
"Slytherins?" Draco assumed.
"Actually, Jarod was a Ravenclaw and Jade was a Hufflepuff." Dumbledore said, a slight smile on his face. "Not the first set of twins to wind up in different houses."
"They never became Death Eaters, though I would have bet everything that they were simply unmarked supporters." Snape said.
"So they wrote this note." Draco said, snarling.
"Yes." Snape said. "It would appear that the children of the Death Eaters have joined together with this Perosus to form the Dark Knights."
"And I must charge the Taipan with dealing with them." Dumbledore said. He looked at them all in turn. "The death of Ron Weasley is a tragic thing, but it will become a mere trifle if we cannot stop the Dark Knights before they strike again." He looked at Sirius and Christopher. "You two find Jarod and Jade and see if you can discover what they are up to. Do nothing right now. Christopher, you had best make the initial contact." Christopher nodded and he and Sirius left.
"Draco," Dumbledore said, "You watch Harry. Don't let him do anything rash. Talk to him and see if he is in any condition to be of any assistance."
Draco nodded, turned on his heel and left.
"You two begin preparations," and here Dumbledore paused. "Just in case."
The Snapes nodded. The left the room for other parts of their home. Dumbledore remained at the desk, wondering at the future.
"So where the hell were you?" Sirius asked, giving Christopher a sidelong glance.
"I was otherwise occupied." Christopher said, glaring out the window of the 1960 Jaguar E-Type.
"Otherwise occupied." Sirius repeated. He was accelerating down the deserted road. "With whom?"
"Are you asking me if I was with Taja?" Christopher asked. "I was, but not the way I'd have preferred."
Sirius took a corner fast enough to fishtail. "Really?" he said, mildly. "So you are telling me that you have never slept with Taja?"
Christopher glanced at Sirius. "Oh, I'm not telling you anything of the sort." he said. "I am telling you that I have not come from her bed this time."
Sirius took his eyes off of the road and stared at Christopher. He was going 200 km/h and amazed Christopher by not getting them killed.
"Do you mind?" Christopher said, trying to keep the shaking from his voice.
Sirius grinned and put his eyes back on the road. "Never mind Taja right now." he said. "Let's talk about Jarod and Jade."
"Jarod is a nasty son-of-a-bitch." Christopher said. "For that, so is Jade. But Jade," and here he paused. "Jade is the more dangerous." he finished after some consideration.
"You were lovers." Sirius half asked.
Christopher sighed. "Off and on for the last ten years." he said. "More off than on since the fall of the Dark Lord."
"Why?" Sirius asked. "And will it keep you from contacting her?" He'd slowed the Jaguar to a more manageable speed, and noticed Christopher visibly relax.
"No, she likes what I have to offer her." Christopher said. "But she isn't much into sharing, so I suppose that leaves you stuck with Jarod."
"Maybe," Sirius said, a half smile on his lips. "Does she like dogs?"
Harry stopped his pacing when Draco came in the door. He looked at the contrast of the snow on the black hood of the cloak and the pale face and hair inside the hood and his heart skipped.
"Well?" Harry asked. "Who did it? Who killed Ron?"
Draco took off his cloak off and threw it over one of the oversized chairs in their living room. He bit his lower lip a moment before he said. "I'm not going to tell you right now." he said, carefully.
Harry's jaw dropped. "Why not?" he demanded.
"Because the Taipan doesn't need you flying off the handle, that's why." Draco said, "Ron was your best friend. You're a little too close to this. You need to separate yourself if your going to help us on this."
Harry stared at Draco. Draco's calm could be contagious, and Harry allowed the calm, drawling voice to wash over him. Harry took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. He replaced his glasses and just stood still, looking at Draco.
Draco walked over to Harry and kissed him gently. "There are things we need to do before anything else. You probably won't like some of them. Might not like any of them, actually, but you're going to have to trust me, Potter."
Harry looked into the grey eyes and nodded. "Whatever you need to do."
Draco ran his fingers through Harry's untidy hair. "Come with me." he said and walked past Harry into their bedroom (they'd decided long ago to share a single bed instead of flitting across the hall to each others room). He motioned tot he bed and Harry lay down.
Draco left the room and Harry listened to him preparing something in his workroom. A tinkling of bottles. The thud of the pestle in the mortar. Draco returned with a glass of water which was tinted blue.
"Drink it. It'll help you sleep."
Harry looked up at him.
"What I need to do would hurt you a great deal if I allowed you to just sleep naturally. I don't want to cause you pain, Potter. You know that."
Harry drank the light blue liquid down in a few swallows an immediately felt his eyes get heavy. The last thing he remembered was the feeling of his lovers lips on his and a whispered. "Goodbye."