Chapter 16: Voices in the Dark
"I thought that was impossible." Harry said once Selene had told him what she intended to do.
Selene closed her hand extinguishing the light. Harry heard her move beside him and sit with him up against the door. "It is impossible for me to extract the entirety of my magic, that much is true. However, what I intend to do is transfer a small amount of my magic to you. That magic should be able to keep you safe for a short amount of time." she said.
Harry shook his head, "I don't like it. What about you? You said that you were weak already, what would this do to you?"
Selene took a deep breath and Harry could hear her expel it slowly. "Harry, when Voldemort appears I guarantee you that he will have a powerful spell that he will use against me."
"Then use your magic against the door. Not on me." Harry said.
"I've already told you that it would render me useless against what was on the other side. Do you honestly think that Voldemort would have nothing lying between us and escape? With my magic, you could save yourself and get outside."
"No. I won't leave you."
"Harry, if you stay you will die right along with me. You are too important in this fight to die now, and in this way."
"I don't want you to die! I just found you! You can't give up Selene, not yet!"
"I'm not giving up, Harry. I'm saving your life. I'm doing for you what I was unable to do for Lily, James, or Sirius."
"By sacrificing yourself? There's got to be a better way!" Harry exclaimed.
"I'm open for suggestions!" Selene said, a little louder than intended. She was just frustrated at the whole of the situation and wanted Harry to understand that this was the only way that he was going to survive. "Do you think I want to die? So soon after finding you and Sirius? If there was any other way I would take it, but Harry, we have no other options.
"There's got to be another way!" Harry said placing his head on his forehead, struggling to think of some other way of getting away from this place and from Voldemort.
"Harry..."
"SShh. Let me think." Harry said almost angrily. He had suddenly found it hard to concentrate.
"Harry are you okay?" Selene asked.
"I fine. It's just that...." Harry stopped, feeling his scar start to tingle. His pulse raced, and he felt himself break out in a cold sweat. "Selene?"
"What is it Harry?"
In only those few moments Harry's scar went from merely tingling to exploding with pain. He reached for it, but touching it only made the pain intensify. "He's coming." Harry managed to get out between waves of pain and nausea.
"How do you..."
"Trust me." Harry said wincing.
He felt Selene kneel beside him and take him into her arms. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek against his, which seemed to momentarily alleviate the burning from his scar. "It's time." she said. Harry felt her cheek warm up, almost too hot to the touch. Its warmth spread to him, but it wasn't like the warmth he had experienced before. Instead of comfort, Harry felt the sensation of being pulled from the inside. It was if all of his energy and emotion was being pulled into Selene. Suddenly that feeling stopped and reversed itself. Harry now had the sensation that he was pulling, no tearing, something away from Selene.
"Selene? What are you doing?" Harry asked and tried to pull away, but Selene held on to him, keeping him pressed against her. The feeling persisted even as Harry tried to pull away. He began to feel his aunt's grasp loosen and her face grow cold "No! Selene I won't let you!" Harry yelled and freed himself from her grasp.
Both nephew and aunt fell back onto the floor. Harry sat up and as he did he could feel Selene's magic coursing through him. It felt both new and familiar and as it raced within him, he was finally able understood the power that Selene held.
Selene sat up beside him. "I had to Harry." she panted.
They heard the sound of footsteps approaching and they turned towards the door. "We have to get away from the door." Harry whispered. Harry slid back along the floor until he felt his back resting against the stone wall. He reached out beside him to make sure that Selene was there. She gripped his hand in a response.
They heard the door being unlocked and pushed open, swinging on large heavy hinges, that made a noise so shrill that it was painful to hear. Even as loud as the door was, the sound of footsteps entering the room was unmistakably clear.
****************************************
The small band of rescuers made their way past the enclosed Death Eater and ran in the direction that it had indicated to Sirius. Ron still wasn't convinced that they were moving in the right direction, but he was glad to at least be moving again. Running in any direction gave him something to do, and watching for muddy areas, sticks, rocks, and even other Death Eaters, had kept his mind from straying to thoughts about what if they were too late? What if Harry and Selene were dead? What if they were walking into a trap?
As they ran the rain began to lighten, and the moon became visible for longer amounts of time, which provided them the light they needed to travel. As Hermione ran she kept looking beside her at Sirius, who never seemed to give any inclination of the pain she knew he must be experiencing. His breathing was a little heavier than hers or Ron's, but his face was set in determination and that alone gave Hermione the faith she needed to believe they were going in the right direction.
Before long a building came into a view. It wasn't that far away from where the three were, but old age and overgrown foliage had made it nearly impossible to see until they were almost upon it. When they were a little closer, Sirius stopped and motioned for the other two to do also.
"Is that where they are?" Hermione asked.
"I'm not sure." Sirius said.
"I wager money on it." Ron said. The other two looked at him curiously. "Look over there." Ron nodded to what looked like an entrance.
Sirius and Hermione turned to look and in the recesses of a doorway they saw a hooded figure robed in black. "Another Death Eater." Sirius mumbled.
"What do we do?" Ron asked.
Sirius inhaled deeply, mulling over the situation. Finally he said, "You two stay here. I'll go around to the door, and then Hermione can use her wand to create a distraction in the opposite direction. I'll sneak around him and go in."
"You can't be serious, Sirius." Ron said, which surprised the older wizard.
"And why not?" Sirius asked.
"You are completely defenseless. You have no wand and only one good hand. You don't even have a weapon." Ron said.
Sirius nodded and turned his gaze back to the Death Eater.
"Why don't you and I go in there and Hermione can stay out here and provide the distraction." Ron said and Sirius and Hermione both turned and looked at him.
"You have to be out of your mind." Hermione said before Sirius could. "You will get yourself killed going up against those Death Eaters."
"I take offense at that. I tackled the one back there fairly nicely I think."
"You were lucky." Sirius said, "You might not be so lucky the next time."
Ron looked to Hermione for support, but instead she agreed with Sirius. "He's right Ron." she said.
"What then? Are we going to just sit here and wait? What if we just ask Mr. Death Eater over there if he will go and collect Harry and Selene for us?" Ron said angrily and then turned to Hermione, "Harry's in there, Herm. With that...that... creature. Who knows what Voldemort has done to him already." Ron said, his voice cracking at the thought of something happening to Harry. He then turned to Sirius. "And you. Your wife is in there. Who knows what Voldemort has planned for her..."
Sirius turned to Ron and glared at him with a look of rage. He walked over to where Ron was standing and grabbed the front of the young wizard's robes with his good hand. "I know exactly what he is going to do to her. It has never left my mind." Sirius snarled through clenched teeth. "Nor has Harry."
"Then lets go get them." Ron said defiantly.
Ron watched the rage fade from Sirius' eyes and his mouth angle upward into a sly grin; he released Ron's robes and nodded. "Alright. Hermione stays here and you and I go in."
Hermione started to protest, but Sirius turned to her and said, "Hermione. We need you for the distraction. You are better with a wand than Ron, right?"
Hermione nodded, "All the more reason for me to go with you."
Sirius shook his head. "The distraction is important, if that goes awry than it is all over. Besides we will need you to deal with any other Death Eaters that try to follow us in."
That seemed to appease Hermione. "Ron, are you ready?" Sirius asked.
"Yes."
"Good. Let's go. Hermione, if we aren't back within twenty minutes, I want you to run back the way we came. Use a portkey and go back to Dumbledore. Understand?"
Hermione nodded and then watched as Ron and Sirius made their way to the entrance of the building. As her eyes followed them she kept a tight grip on her wand. A million things were running through her mind, most of the thoughts centered on how many things could go wrong with their plan.
Sirius and Ron approached the door from the right and came as close as they dared. Sirius signaled to her that it was time for the distraction, but Hermione froze. She kept thinking that she was sending both Ron and Sirius to their deaths. Hermione wanted to act, but too many questions were running through her mind. What if the spell doesn't work? What if Sirius and Ron are captured? Could I make it back to Dumbledore in time? Hermione found herself questioning her actions, something that she had never done before. She lowered her wand, not sure what she should do.
As they stood against the building, Ron became aware that he could not see Hermione. The brush that Hermione was hiding behind, while allowing her to watch them, obscured her from their view. This both pleased and worried Ron. He was pleased because he knew that if he and Sirius couldn't see her, even when they were looking for her, then neither would any Death Eater. However, it worried him because after Sirius had signaled her, nothing had happened. Ron thought that maybe Hermione was contemplating what spell to use, so he and Sirius waited for a few minutes to see what would happen. While they were waiting Ron had a horrible image of a Death Eater stumbling across the hiding place and capturing Hermione. Ron couldn't shake the thought that something was wrong, and so he began to retrace his and Sirius' footsteps back to their hiding spot.
What is he doing? Hermione asked herself when she saw Ron heading in her direction.
Sirius tried to hold Ron back, but having only one good arm hindered his movements, and Ron slipped from his grasp. Ron hadn't gotten very far when he slipped on a muddy patch of earth and fell. Fear seized him as Ron felt the Death Eater's gaze turn towards him. He looked back for Sirius, but heard his voice instead.
"Ron! Freeze!" Sirius said as loudly as he could without attracting attention himself.
It was too late. Although Sirius was sure that the Death Eater could not yet see the boy, he was approaching them to investigate the noise.
Sirius flattened himself up against the wall and felt completely useless. He was hurt and unarmed. If he made any effort to help Ron, the Death Eater would discover him. However, he stayed where he was, he would be seen as well. Sirius could do nothing, and he hated it. Come on Hermione. He said to himself. Please do something.
Although Hermione could not have heard Sirius' plea, at that very moment she knew that she had to act. She simply could not allow that Death Eater to do to Ron what one of his kind had done to Sirius. She pointed her wand to the left of the Death Eater and whispered "Twiterous Surrod!" Suddenly the forest within the reach of the spell became alive with noises and voices of all sorts. The Death Eater turned his attention to them, and tried to locate exactly where the noise was coming from. However, the spell was subtle and elusive. Whenever the Death Eater approached, the noise would move to a different location.
Hermione watched as Sirius picked Ron off up his feet, and together the two slid by the Death Eater and entered the building.
Hermione sat down and exhaled deeply, unaware that she had been holding her breath almost the entire time. Then for the first time she realized that the rain had almost completely stopped. The rumble of thunder had ceased. Her spell had also run its course and the Death Eater, discovering nothing, had returned to his post. The forest was once again quiet, almost too quiet.
********************************************************
As soon as the figure entered the room, Harry knew who it was. He didn't need his scar to tell him that, or his eyes. The room was still dark and Harry was unable to see Voldemort who stood there in the darkness, silent.
Every time Harry encountered Voldemort, there was always a terrible feeling of evil that surrounded the Dark Lord. It made Harry's stomach turn and invoked every ounce of fear that he had. However, this time something was different.
There was something else in the air. Harry could sense that it was magic, but he could not pinpoint the source. The one thing that he knew for certain was that whatever it was it was not a part of Voldemort. This magic was separate from him. Harry could sense the magic branch off into the air, writhing as eels in a dark sea, looking...searching. But for what? Harry asked himself. The answer came too quickly.
Suddenly it found Harry and surrounded him, calling to him with the voices of locusts, swarming through the air. The voices were separate, yet were unified in their pleading. The call was clear. It wanted him, needed him. "Set us loose." it begged, "We will show you many wonders. Release us."
The voices were now no longer outside of Harry, but within him. "Release us." It rasped from the recesses of Harry's skull.
Release you from what? Harry asked.
"From our prison. We yearn to be free."
Why should I do what you want?
"We will give you everything. You will have power over all, even he that you fear." The voice echoed within Harry's ears.
How do you know whom I fear?
"We see all, know all...we are bonded with you. We are you."
"No!" Harry said aloud. He felt Selene's hand on his arm.
"Harry, don't listen." she whispered. "It is the Book of Carmen, don't listen. Block it out."
Harry obeyed. He thought of anything to keep his mind of the voices. He thought of playing wizard's chess with Ron, Quidditch, dancing with Ginny. Finally the voices died within his head, but the one that replaced it was not any better.
"Harry Potter." a harsh voice said, piercing the silence of the room. "It seems that fate has brought us together once more."
****************************************************
A/N: In case any of you are confused, the reason why Harry's conversation with the Book of Carmen, wasn't in quotation marks is because it was inside his head. No one, including Voldemort, heard what was said. I hope I'm not insulting anyone's intelligence by stating this, but I know how the conversation played out, because I'm writing it. I just hope that it makes sense to my readers. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for the reviews! Keep 'em coming! -R
"I thought that was impossible." Harry said once Selene had told him what she intended to do.
Selene closed her hand extinguishing the light. Harry heard her move beside him and sit with him up against the door. "It is impossible for me to extract the entirety of my magic, that much is true. However, what I intend to do is transfer a small amount of my magic to you. That magic should be able to keep you safe for a short amount of time." she said.
Harry shook his head, "I don't like it. What about you? You said that you were weak already, what would this do to you?"
Selene took a deep breath and Harry could hear her expel it slowly. "Harry, when Voldemort appears I guarantee you that he will have a powerful spell that he will use against me."
"Then use your magic against the door. Not on me." Harry said.
"I've already told you that it would render me useless against what was on the other side. Do you honestly think that Voldemort would have nothing lying between us and escape? With my magic, you could save yourself and get outside."
"No. I won't leave you."
"Harry, if you stay you will die right along with me. You are too important in this fight to die now, and in this way."
"I don't want you to die! I just found you! You can't give up Selene, not yet!"
"I'm not giving up, Harry. I'm saving your life. I'm doing for you what I was unable to do for Lily, James, or Sirius."
"By sacrificing yourself? There's got to be a better way!" Harry exclaimed.
"I'm open for suggestions!" Selene said, a little louder than intended. She was just frustrated at the whole of the situation and wanted Harry to understand that this was the only way that he was going to survive. "Do you think I want to die? So soon after finding you and Sirius? If there was any other way I would take it, but Harry, we have no other options.
"There's got to be another way!" Harry said placing his head on his forehead, struggling to think of some other way of getting away from this place and from Voldemort.
"Harry..."
"SShh. Let me think." Harry said almost angrily. He had suddenly found it hard to concentrate.
"Harry are you okay?" Selene asked.
"I fine. It's just that...." Harry stopped, feeling his scar start to tingle. His pulse raced, and he felt himself break out in a cold sweat. "Selene?"
"What is it Harry?"
In only those few moments Harry's scar went from merely tingling to exploding with pain. He reached for it, but touching it only made the pain intensify. "He's coming." Harry managed to get out between waves of pain and nausea.
"How do you..."
"Trust me." Harry said wincing.
He felt Selene kneel beside him and take him into her arms. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek against his, which seemed to momentarily alleviate the burning from his scar. "It's time." she said. Harry felt her cheek warm up, almost too hot to the touch. Its warmth spread to him, but it wasn't like the warmth he had experienced before. Instead of comfort, Harry felt the sensation of being pulled from the inside. It was if all of his energy and emotion was being pulled into Selene. Suddenly that feeling stopped and reversed itself. Harry now had the sensation that he was pulling, no tearing, something away from Selene.
"Selene? What are you doing?" Harry asked and tried to pull away, but Selene held on to him, keeping him pressed against her. The feeling persisted even as Harry tried to pull away. He began to feel his aunt's grasp loosen and her face grow cold "No! Selene I won't let you!" Harry yelled and freed himself from her grasp.
Both nephew and aunt fell back onto the floor. Harry sat up and as he did he could feel Selene's magic coursing through him. It felt both new and familiar and as it raced within him, he was finally able understood the power that Selene held.
Selene sat up beside him. "I had to Harry." she panted.
They heard the sound of footsteps approaching and they turned towards the door. "We have to get away from the door." Harry whispered. Harry slid back along the floor until he felt his back resting against the stone wall. He reached out beside him to make sure that Selene was there. She gripped his hand in a response.
They heard the door being unlocked and pushed open, swinging on large heavy hinges, that made a noise so shrill that it was painful to hear. Even as loud as the door was, the sound of footsteps entering the room was unmistakably clear.
****************************************
The small band of rescuers made their way past the enclosed Death Eater and ran in the direction that it had indicated to Sirius. Ron still wasn't convinced that they were moving in the right direction, but he was glad to at least be moving again. Running in any direction gave him something to do, and watching for muddy areas, sticks, rocks, and even other Death Eaters, had kept his mind from straying to thoughts about what if they were too late? What if Harry and Selene were dead? What if they were walking into a trap?
As they ran the rain began to lighten, and the moon became visible for longer amounts of time, which provided them the light they needed to travel. As Hermione ran she kept looking beside her at Sirius, who never seemed to give any inclination of the pain she knew he must be experiencing. His breathing was a little heavier than hers or Ron's, but his face was set in determination and that alone gave Hermione the faith she needed to believe they were going in the right direction.
Before long a building came into a view. It wasn't that far away from where the three were, but old age and overgrown foliage had made it nearly impossible to see until they were almost upon it. When they were a little closer, Sirius stopped and motioned for the other two to do also.
"Is that where they are?" Hermione asked.
"I'm not sure." Sirius said.
"I wager money on it." Ron said. The other two looked at him curiously. "Look over there." Ron nodded to what looked like an entrance.
Sirius and Hermione turned to look and in the recesses of a doorway they saw a hooded figure robed in black. "Another Death Eater." Sirius mumbled.
"What do we do?" Ron asked.
Sirius inhaled deeply, mulling over the situation. Finally he said, "You two stay here. I'll go around to the door, and then Hermione can use her wand to create a distraction in the opposite direction. I'll sneak around him and go in."
"You can't be serious, Sirius." Ron said, which surprised the older wizard.
"And why not?" Sirius asked.
"You are completely defenseless. You have no wand and only one good hand. You don't even have a weapon." Ron said.
Sirius nodded and turned his gaze back to the Death Eater.
"Why don't you and I go in there and Hermione can stay out here and provide the distraction." Ron said and Sirius and Hermione both turned and looked at him.
"You have to be out of your mind." Hermione said before Sirius could. "You will get yourself killed going up against those Death Eaters."
"I take offense at that. I tackled the one back there fairly nicely I think."
"You were lucky." Sirius said, "You might not be so lucky the next time."
Ron looked to Hermione for support, but instead she agreed with Sirius. "He's right Ron." she said.
"What then? Are we going to just sit here and wait? What if we just ask Mr. Death Eater over there if he will go and collect Harry and Selene for us?" Ron said angrily and then turned to Hermione, "Harry's in there, Herm. With that...that... creature. Who knows what Voldemort has done to him already." Ron said, his voice cracking at the thought of something happening to Harry. He then turned to Sirius. "And you. Your wife is in there. Who knows what Voldemort has planned for her..."
Sirius turned to Ron and glared at him with a look of rage. He walked over to where Ron was standing and grabbed the front of the young wizard's robes with his good hand. "I know exactly what he is going to do to her. It has never left my mind." Sirius snarled through clenched teeth. "Nor has Harry."
"Then lets go get them." Ron said defiantly.
Ron watched the rage fade from Sirius' eyes and his mouth angle upward into a sly grin; he released Ron's robes and nodded. "Alright. Hermione stays here and you and I go in."
Hermione started to protest, but Sirius turned to her and said, "Hermione. We need you for the distraction. You are better with a wand than Ron, right?"
Hermione nodded, "All the more reason for me to go with you."
Sirius shook his head. "The distraction is important, if that goes awry than it is all over. Besides we will need you to deal with any other Death Eaters that try to follow us in."
That seemed to appease Hermione. "Ron, are you ready?" Sirius asked.
"Yes."
"Good. Let's go. Hermione, if we aren't back within twenty minutes, I want you to run back the way we came. Use a portkey and go back to Dumbledore. Understand?"
Hermione nodded and then watched as Ron and Sirius made their way to the entrance of the building. As her eyes followed them she kept a tight grip on her wand. A million things were running through her mind, most of the thoughts centered on how many things could go wrong with their plan.
Sirius and Ron approached the door from the right and came as close as they dared. Sirius signaled to her that it was time for the distraction, but Hermione froze. She kept thinking that she was sending both Ron and Sirius to their deaths. Hermione wanted to act, but too many questions were running through her mind. What if the spell doesn't work? What if Sirius and Ron are captured? Could I make it back to Dumbledore in time? Hermione found herself questioning her actions, something that she had never done before. She lowered her wand, not sure what she should do.
As they stood against the building, Ron became aware that he could not see Hermione. The brush that Hermione was hiding behind, while allowing her to watch them, obscured her from their view. This both pleased and worried Ron. He was pleased because he knew that if he and Sirius couldn't see her, even when they were looking for her, then neither would any Death Eater. However, it worried him because after Sirius had signaled her, nothing had happened. Ron thought that maybe Hermione was contemplating what spell to use, so he and Sirius waited for a few minutes to see what would happen. While they were waiting Ron had a horrible image of a Death Eater stumbling across the hiding place and capturing Hermione. Ron couldn't shake the thought that something was wrong, and so he began to retrace his and Sirius' footsteps back to their hiding spot.
What is he doing? Hermione asked herself when she saw Ron heading in her direction.
Sirius tried to hold Ron back, but having only one good arm hindered his movements, and Ron slipped from his grasp. Ron hadn't gotten very far when he slipped on a muddy patch of earth and fell. Fear seized him as Ron felt the Death Eater's gaze turn towards him. He looked back for Sirius, but heard his voice instead.
"Ron! Freeze!" Sirius said as loudly as he could without attracting attention himself.
It was too late. Although Sirius was sure that the Death Eater could not yet see the boy, he was approaching them to investigate the noise.
Sirius flattened himself up against the wall and felt completely useless. He was hurt and unarmed. If he made any effort to help Ron, the Death Eater would discover him. However, he stayed where he was, he would be seen as well. Sirius could do nothing, and he hated it. Come on Hermione. He said to himself. Please do something.
Although Hermione could not have heard Sirius' plea, at that very moment she knew that she had to act. She simply could not allow that Death Eater to do to Ron what one of his kind had done to Sirius. She pointed her wand to the left of the Death Eater and whispered "Twiterous Surrod!" Suddenly the forest within the reach of the spell became alive with noises and voices of all sorts. The Death Eater turned his attention to them, and tried to locate exactly where the noise was coming from. However, the spell was subtle and elusive. Whenever the Death Eater approached, the noise would move to a different location.
Hermione watched as Sirius picked Ron off up his feet, and together the two slid by the Death Eater and entered the building.
Hermione sat down and exhaled deeply, unaware that she had been holding her breath almost the entire time. Then for the first time she realized that the rain had almost completely stopped. The rumble of thunder had ceased. Her spell had also run its course and the Death Eater, discovering nothing, had returned to his post. The forest was once again quiet, almost too quiet.
********************************************************
As soon as the figure entered the room, Harry knew who it was. He didn't need his scar to tell him that, or his eyes. The room was still dark and Harry was unable to see Voldemort who stood there in the darkness, silent.
Every time Harry encountered Voldemort, there was always a terrible feeling of evil that surrounded the Dark Lord. It made Harry's stomach turn and invoked every ounce of fear that he had. However, this time something was different.
There was something else in the air. Harry could sense that it was magic, but he could not pinpoint the source. The one thing that he knew for certain was that whatever it was it was not a part of Voldemort. This magic was separate from him. Harry could sense the magic branch off into the air, writhing as eels in a dark sea, looking...searching. But for what? Harry asked himself. The answer came too quickly.
Suddenly it found Harry and surrounded him, calling to him with the voices of locusts, swarming through the air. The voices were separate, yet were unified in their pleading. The call was clear. It wanted him, needed him. "Set us loose." it begged, "We will show you many wonders. Release us."
The voices were now no longer outside of Harry, but within him. "Release us." It rasped from the recesses of Harry's skull.
Release you from what? Harry asked.
"From our prison. We yearn to be free."
Why should I do what you want?
"We will give you everything. You will have power over all, even he that you fear." The voice echoed within Harry's ears.
How do you know whom I fear?
"We see all, know all...we are bonded with you. We are you."
"No!" Harry said aloud. He felt Selene's hand on his arm.
"Harry, don't listen." she whispered. "It is the Book of Carmen, don't listen. Block it out."
Harry obeyed. He thought of anything to keep his mind of the voices. He thought of playing wizard's chess with Ron, Quidditch, dancing with Ginny. Finally the voices died within his head, but the one that replaced it was not any better.
"Harry Potter." a harsh voice said, piercing the silence of the room. "It seems that fate has brought us together once more."
****************************************************
A/N: In case any of you are confused, the reason why Harry's conversation with the Book of Carmen, wasn't in quotation marks is because it was inside his head. No one, including Voldemort, heard what was said. I hope I'm not insulting anyone's intelligence by stating this, but I know how the conversation played out, because I'm writing it. I just hope that it makes sense to my readers. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for the reviews! Keep 'em coming! -R