A/N: Yes, alas it is true. You have to sit through yet another one of my rambling author notes
(unless, of course, you skip through these, which you don't. Do you? DO YOU? Well, I guess you
don't because if you're reading this, you obviously don't skip them. Ok, I'll shut up now . . .) I
made a boo-boo. I wanted to post the last chapter as quickly as I could, and usually I check
through them several times before I post because there is always something I missed, but with
chapter three I fell into a plot-hole. I figured out a way to dig myself out, but it kind of makes
everything sound a little hokey. I'm not going to tell you where it is, because hopefully you won't
even notice, but just to let you know in case you do. :)
*grumblegrumble* stupid formatting! I hate that it is all messed up. I don't know how, or even if I
*can* fix it. It's really annoying me because that's one of the things that turns me off other stories,
when the formatting is all fujumbled. (Yes, I make up my own words. Have a problem with that?)
The story can be the best one in the world (Not that I'm saying this one is), but when the
formatting is screwy, then it makes it difficult to read. *hits computer because she doesn't know
what else to do*.
On to the disclaimer - I am not J.K Rowling, I do not own Harry Potter, I do not own Bloomsbury
Publishing, Warner Bros. or Scholastic Inc. I am the queen of the world, however, so I guess I'll
just have to live with that. :o)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Normal
Chapter Four
Dumbledore had just finished talking with Arabella over the fire. He hadn't remembered
spending this much time on the fire since the fall of Voldemort. He leaned back in his high chair,
steepled his fingertips under his chin, and thought about the conversation they had just had.
Arabella had been adamant that she had seen the red rings around the Dursley's pupils,
and he believed her. It really shouldn't surprise him, after all Voldemort was back, so why
wouldn't he bring the curse back with him? What worried Dumbledore the most, was not
Voldemort, or the fact that the curse was back, but the fact that the Dursleys were under the curse,
and Harry was alone with them, not knowing what was going on.
He decided it best under the circumstances to get Harry out of the Dursley's care.
Normally being under the Dursleys care was the safest place for Harry to be, but not anymore.
With a sudden pang of guilt, Dumbledore regretted sending Harry to the Dursleys. He should have
checked on the before sending Harry to stay with them. Why hadn't he thought of checking the
Dursleys before Harry went back to them? How could he be so stupid as to think that Voldemort
wouldn't get to them? Wasn't he, Albus Dumbldore, supposedly the most respected wizard of his
time, supposed to be able to think of everything? Why was it that he could defeat Grindelwald, run
a school, head up the Order of the Phoenix and have the ministry on his heels everyday asking for
advice about this and that, but he couldn't even keep one fourteen year old boy safe?
Putting Harry in the Dursley's care was one thing, but getting him out would be quite
another. The wards around Harry's house was made so no wizards besides Harry, Arabella,
Minerva and himself could even see it. To every other wizard, it was just an empty lot. He put it
up after Harry left Privet Drive for his third year. He was becoming increasingly worried about
attacks, and sooner or later he knew Harry would need protection. He made it sooner, rather than
later. But that was the problem. No one who could actually see the house could get Harry out.
Arabella wanted to go back and get Harry out after she gathered her bearings, but
Dumbledore flat out refused. She had spent her entire life protecting Harry. She had made a new
life for herself in her home just down the street from Harry. If the Dursleys figured out she was a
witch, that would ruin everything. They could not risk Arabella's position being given away. It was
too dangerous for her.
Minerva McGonagall was currently in Bulgaria, along with Professor Sprout. After the
Triwizard Tournament, the Bulgarians felt that even after all that happened, even after Hogwarts
had lost a champion, that the tournament was set up for a Hogwarts victory. Crouch was the head
of international magical cooperation, but with him dead, they needed to send someone to talk
things over with them, explain what had happened. Percy Weasley really should have gone, but
much to his indignation, the ministry didn't think him experienced or qualified enough to handle
such delicate matters. They asked Dumbledore to send someone he trusted to fix matters, someone
with a cool head and good diplomatic skills. Naturally, he had chosen Minerva.
Professor Sprout had gone with her to as a representative of the Diggory family, to kind of
appeal to their hearts, to show that Hogwarts had not cheated, and had lost a young man with a
bright future.
Dumbledore himself could not go to get Harry out simply because the ministry had horrible
timing. He had gotten an owl from Minister Fudge not two days after school let out saying that he
was willing to meet with Dumbledore and rationally discuss the whole "You-Know-Who issue".
Dumbledore was skeptical as to what Fudge's idea of rational was, but he nevertheless agreed to
the meeting. He was hoping he might also be able to make an appeal for a trial for Sirius, but he
had to be sure that Fudge wasn't going to lose it again first. The meeting was scheduled for half an
hour from now, and couldn't be postponed. Dumbledore knew from experience that most ministry
meetings could take several days to complete. Participants often had to take pepper-upper potion to
keep themselves awake during the long hours.
So with everyone who was cleared to enter Harry's house unable to do so, he had to not
only take the charm down, but find someone to get him. Neither were a problem, except that after
the charm was down, they had to wait five hours for the aftereffects to wear off so the house could
actually be seen. That also worried Dumbledore. A lot could happen in five hours. A lot.
There were no other teachers who stayed at Hogwarts over the summer holidays, except
Hagrid, and he was currently on a mission to meet with the giants with Madame Maxime. Argus
Filch also stayed at the school, but Dumbledore would feel much better sending someone who not
only could do magic, but also cared if Harry got out alright.
There were only two people he could think of to do the job. He raised himself from the
desk and left his office, heading for the Gryffindor common room.
When he reached the portrait, the Fat Lady said hello and swung open immediately for him
to enter. There, laying on the couch in front of the fire, was a large shaggy black dog.
"Hello, Sirius."
The dog jerked his head up, surprised. When he saw who it was, he jumped off the couch
and changed into his human form.
"Hello, Professor Dumbledore. Have another mission for me?" He had finished his last
mission a day ago, and was already becoming restless.
"In a sense. Sirius, I think you'd better sit down. This is going to be a long story."
The two sat on the couch, and Dumbledore began. He told Sirius about Molly Weasley's
call, and Harry's glasses. Then of Arabella's visit to the Dursley's. Sirius was, to say the least,
incredibly worried about his godson. Dumbledore told him about what Arabella had found, and
the red rings around the Dursley's pupils. Sirius started to ask what that meant, but Dumbledore
held up a hand and told him to ask questions when he was done. He went on to tell him about why
no one else but Sirius himself could get Harry out, but he would have help.
When he finished, he only had fifteen minutes until he had to floo over to the ministry. He
asked Sirius for his questions.
"What do you mean by 'red rings around their pupils'? What does that mean? Does it have
to do with you-know-who?" Sirius's voice was a little unsteady with fear.
"Yes. I figured you would ask that. Well, I guess I'll start from the beginning. When
Voldemort was in power, he used all three unforgivable curses at his will, am I correct?"
"Yes." Sirius said this as if he didn't know where the conversation was going, and maybe a
little part of him didn't want to know.
"Well, after awhile, Voldemort grew tired of these curses. He wanted a curse that was not
thousands of years old, but something people would strictly associate with him. He and several of
his followers come up with many new curses. He only taught them to his Death Eaters, and they
are under a magical contract never to tell anyone else how to perform them. None of them have a
name, so we usually just call them by what they do.
"Among these curses was what we simply called the 'temperament curse'. When someone
is placed under this curse, it caused all of their emotions and feelings to go out of control. If, say,
someone who hated you was placed under the curse, their feelings would be magnified a
thousandfold, and may cause them to do things that aren't normal for their character. So is the
case with Harry's relatives. They hate him, possibly abnormally so *without* the curse, but they
would never hurt him. They are too afraid of what might happen. But under the curse, they don't
care. They would care about one thing and one thing only: venting their hatred. The same goes for
someone who is in love, or someone who is sad. Whatever emotion they felt towards anyone was
increased.
"I need to tell you this, Sirius. This will not be pleasant to hear. I want you ro promise me
to stay calm. This is hard enough as it is." Sirius nodded.. "When someone is injured by someone
else under this curse, which we are assuming Harry has been, the wounds he has sustained . . .
they hurt more that they normally would. Just as the feelings would be magnified, so would the
pain of an wounds. A bruise would feel like a broken bone. And also . . . we won't be able to heal
him until the curse is lifted. That is one of the reasons this curse is known as one of the worst that
Voldemort came up with."
"What do you mean *one*?"
"The curse . . . it cannot be lifted by just anyone . . . It must be lifted by the person who
placed it on them in the first place. This means, if Harry is hurt, we must find the Death Eater who
placed it on them, and he must take it off himself."
Sirius, by this time was on the edge of his seat, ready to go and rescue Harry right away.
But there were still questions he wanted answered, and he knew he couldn't get into the Dursley's
house for at least five hours. "But I don't get it. Why are there red rings around their eyes? I don't
know of any other curses leaving side effects besides what they are supposed to do in the first
place."
"All of Voldemort's curses left some kind of side effect. That is what happens when a
curse is invented. Curses that don't leave trademarks are natural curses. They come from magic
itself, they have always existed. Unnatural curses always leave trademark signs, and some of them
are quite unpleasant. Some of the side effects of the curses were worse than the curses
themselves."
"Why do I not know about these curses? If You-Know-Who invented them when he came into
power, shouldn't I know about them? I *was* around then."
"These curses were very deadly, and dangerous, but not perfected until very near the date
when Voldemort's attack on the Potters. No one dared use them after Voldemort's downfall, for
fear of being associated with him and sent to Azkaban."
"Alright." Sirius closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Just tell me what to do,
and I'm there."
"Why don't we go to my office. You can floo over to Arabella's, and I will send help. You
can think up a plan while you are waiting for the charm on Harry's house to wear off."
They went to Dumbledore's office, and without a word, Sirius picked up some floo
powder and threw it into the fire. "Arabella Figg's!"
Once Sirius had left, Dumbledore had to smile. That man loved his godson so much that
he hadn't even asked who Dumbledore was sending. Dumbledore know that Sirius trusted him,
but what if he had sent someone who would send him right back to Azkaban? He was glad that
Sirius could trust him enough to know he wouldn't do such a thing.
He also didn't ask if Arabella knew of his innocence, which she thankfully did. She insisted
she know everything about Harry if she was going to watch over him. She didn't want to hex
anyone who didn't deserve it.
Dumbledore now only had five minutes to take down the charm and get Sirius help. He
took out his wand and said a few choice words. That was one of the reasons he liked this charm. It
allowed him to place it and take it off without apparating all the way sown to Harry's.
He then picked up some powder, and threw it in the fire and yelled "Remus Lupin!"
Remus's head appeared in the fire as Dumbledore thought to himself how lucky he was
that Remus was even near a fireplace. "Remus, I trust you are not busy . . ."
* * *
Sirius landed on his knees in Arabella Figg's living room. He never would get used to the
floo system. He stood up and began dusting himself off.
"Sirius Black, you are getting soot all over my clean carpet!"
He looked up to see a smiling Arabella Figg watching him from the doorway. "Sorry." He
mumbled.
"It's alright." She flicked her wand and the soot flew out of the carped and back into the
chimney. "It happens all the time. I should have known Dumbledore would send you. I thought it
was going to be one of the professors. Don't know why I couldn't just go myself, but you always
do what Dumbledore says, right?"
He smiled back at her. "Right." Just then, someone else came out of the fireplace, much
more gracefully than Sirius had. Sirius stared in shock.
"Moony? I haven't seen you for ages! I didn't know Dumbledore was sending you!"
"Well, who were you expecting, Minister Fudge? Or maybe a Dementor?"
"I . . ." Sirius was cut off by being pulled int a hug by the remaining marauder.
"I'd hate to interrupt this happy reunion, but would anyone like some tea? We need to
figure out what you are going to do."
"What *are* we doing, exactly?" Asked Lupin.
"What, you mean? Dumbledore didn't tell you?" Sirius was surprised that Dumbledore
would send Remus without telling him what was happening.
"He didn't exactly have time. All he said was that he had to go to the ministry soon, and
that I should floo here, because you needed my help. He said you would explain it to me."
With that they went to the kitchen, and Sirius, with the help of Arabella, filled Remus in on
'what exactly he was doing' there, as they waited anxiously for the five hours to end.
* * *
Harry awoke to find everything completely dark. He moaned and tried to get up, but his
head seemed to be weighing him down. He turned onto his side and saw a very familiar sight. He
has stared at this wall every night for ten years while he tried to fall asleep. He was back in the
cupboard.
He didn't remember much about the last couple of days, but he figured that he had fallen
asleep or passed out in his room, and one of the Dursley's must have taken him down here. He
tried to move again, and he felt fire rip through his head and chest. He moaned again but it caught
in his throat and he began to cough. The cough rattled in his chest and burned his throat.
"Great. Just what I need is to catch Dudley's cold now. As if this wasn't enough . . ." He
thought. Just breathing was making his throat hurt, and he couldn't help but think of how fast he
had caught it. Maybe it was from him already being weak.
Something he couldn't understand was how much he hurt. He hadn't been beaten hard
enough to prevent him from sitting up. Yeah, it hurt like nobody's business, but he had been under
the crutiatus before - the most painful curse in the world - and he had been able to move.
He reached up to the doorknob and wasn't surprised to find that it was locked. Why not?
Of course the Dursley's couldn't look over just one little thing. He began to cough even harder
than he did before. He tried to stop it. He didn't know where the Dursleys were, but he didn't
want them to know he was awake. The harder he tried not to cough, however, the worse the urge
seemed to be. Finally he couldn't hold it in and it burst out, incredibly painful and sending shoots
of fire all over his chest. He heard footsteps descending the stairs above him. Well, at least he
could always tell when Vernon was coming. Just listen for the heavy footsteps.
The door to the cupboard rattled as it was unlocked. Finally, it flew open, and there was a
steaming Vernon Dursley in a pair of blue and white striped pajamas.
"You, once again. WE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP UP THERE! How is anyone supposed
to sleep with you making that infernal racket, boy! We need our sleep, especially Dudley! How
dare you!" With that, he reached in the cupboard and lifted Harry out by the front of his shirt. He
picked Harry off the ground and threw him against the wall. "I thought you would have learned
your lesson by now, you foolish delinquent!"
Harry barely heard what Vernon was saying to him. He had hit his head against the wall,
right where Petunia had struck him with the hockey stick, and there were stars dancing all over his
uncle's face. He felt a foot slam against his chest, and wondered why it felt like Vernon was
wearing steal toed boots instead of slippers. The foot connected again, and Harry felt a snap inside
his chest.
Suddenly he could barely breathe. He coughed again and felt a trickle of blood roll down
his chin. He coughed so hard that he wouldn't have been shocked if a lung came up one of these
times. Vernon payed no attention to his nephew, now bleeding all over the floor. All he knew was
that he hated this *creature* and he had to hurt it.
Harry felt his wrist snap when Vernon pulled him up off the floor. He dared to look at it. It was
the same hand that he had burned earlier. It was hanging at an odd angle, completely useless. His
entire body seemed to be wrenched in a vice of stabbing pain. Vernon pushed him against the wall,
banging his head again and again, making more noise than when Harry had been coughing and had
woken Vernon in the first place.
Harry's head hit the wall one last time. He felt himself being shoved into the cupboard before
everything went black once more.
* * *
Sirius looked at the muggle-style clock for what must have been the thousandth time in the
past four and a half hours. He couldn't get an image of Harry's face battered and eyes open in a
death stare out of his head. Remus and Arabella tried to tell him that it wasn't his fault, but he
couldn't help but feel that everything bad in Harry's life was because of him. If Harry died, he
didn't know what he would do. Of course, there was a chance that Harry wasn't injured badly at
all, but with every passing minute, Sirius felt his panic building until it threatened to overtake him.
All he knew was that he *had* to get Harry out of there, and yet he still had a half an hour wait.
After he and Remus figured out their plan, they had sat at the kitchen table, listening to
Arabella tell stories about Harry when he was younger and she would babysit him. She told them
of the look Harry always had when he came over, kind of like he was dreading something. She
said that she would show him pictures of her cats to relax him, but that seemed to make it worse.
Remus and Sirius burst out laughing and Remus gently told her that it was her cat pictures that
Harry was dreading in the first place.
They had sat in silence for the last half an hour, having run out of things to say. Sirius
himself was lost in memories of Harry as a baby. Remus was thinking of his brief stint as Harry's
professor. Arabella was thinking of her cats, and other times when she had babysat Harry.
Sirius counted down the last twenty minutes before they left in his head. The clock seemed
to slow down, even go backwards, whenever he watched it. Finally it was time to go.
They made sure they had their wands. The three of them left the house together. Arabella
insisted on going along, and waiting outside incase anything happened and she had to get help, or
hold off the ministry until Sirius escaped. They walked down the street and stopped in front of an
empty lot that Arabella assured them was Harry's house.
The three of them stood there, waiting for the charm to wear off. Just five more minutes,
and they could go get Harry.
Thank y'all (yes, I actually say y'all. No, I am not a hick.) so much for the reviews. I don't think
that there are any questions that I can answer here, because the answers are either in the chapter,
or would ruin the plot (and frankly, I can't remember any of them.)
There will probably be more of a wait between chapters from now on, even though I know that I
don't exactly post every day, but I am not really satisfied with the last two chapters, and I want to
spend more time on them rather than just pop them out as soon as they're done. I don't like getting
stuck in plot-holes. Not fun.
Soon I think I am going to do a little section where I thank all you beautiful reviewers. You make
me so happy! If I do that, it will be later though. Not right now cause I'm too lazy to actually look
up all the reviewers.
Toodles.
~Avidia~
(unless, of course, you skip through these, which you don't. Do you? DO YOU? Well, I guess you
don't because if you're reading this, you obviously don't skip them. Ok, I'll shut up now . . .) I
made a boo-boo. I wanted to post the last chapter as quickly as I could, and usually I check
through them several times before I post because there is always something I missed, but with
chapter three I fell into a plot-hole. I figured out a way to dig myself out, but it kind of makes
everything sound a little hokey. I'm not going to tell you where it is, because hopefully you won't
even notice, but just to let you know in case you do. :)
*grumblegrumble* stupid formatting! I hate that it is all messed up. I don't know how, or even if I
*can* fix it. It's really annoying me because that's one of the things that turns me off other stories,
when the formatting is all fujumbled. (Yes, I make up my own words. Have a problem with that?)
The story can be the best one in the world (Not that I'm saying this one is), but when the
formatting is screwy, then it makes it difficult to read. *hits computer because she doesn't know
what else to do*.
On to the disclaimer - I am not J.K Rowling, I do not own Harry Potter, I do not own Bloomsbury
Publishing, Warner Bros. or Scholastic Inc. I am the queen of the world, however, so I guess I'll
just have to live with that. :o)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Normal
Chapter Four
Dumbledore had just finished talking with Arabella over the fire. He hadn't remembered
spending this much time on the fire since the fall of Voldemort. He leaned back in his high chair,
steepled his fingertips under his chin, and thought about the conversation they had just had.
Arabella had been adamant that she had seen the red rings around the Dursley's pupils,
and he believed her. It really shouldn't surprise him, after all Voldemort was back, so why
wouldn't he bring the curse back with him? What worried Dumbledore the most, was not
Voldemort, or the fact that the curse was back, but the fact that the Dursleys were under the curse,
and Harry was alone with them, not knowing what was going on.
He decided it best under the circumstances to get Harry out of the Dursley's care.
Normally being under the Dursleys care was the safest place for Harry to be, but not anymore.
With a sudden pang of guilt, Dumbledore regretted sending Harry to the Dursleys. He should have
checked on the before sending Harry to stay with them. Why hadn't he thought of checking the
Dursleys before Harry went back to them? How could he be so stupid as to think that Voldemort
wouldn't get to them? Wasn't he, Albus Dumbldore, supposedly the most respected wizard of his
time, supposed to be able to think of everything? Why was it that he could defeat Grindelwald, run
a school, head up the Order of the Phoenix and have the ministry on his heels everyday asking for
advice about this and that, but he couldn't even keep one fourteen year old boy safe?
Putting Harry in the Dursley's care was one thing, but getting him out would be quite
another. The wards around Harry's house was made so no wizards besides Harry, Arabella,
Minerva and himself could even see it. To every other wizard, it was just an empty lot. He put it
up after Harry left Privet Drive for his third year. He was becoming increasingly worried about
attacks, and sooner or later he knew Harry would need protection. He made it sooner, rather than
later. But that was the problem. No one who could actually see the house could get Harry out.
Arabella wanted to go back and get Harry out after she gathered her bearings, but
Dumbledore flat out refused. She had spent her entire life protecting Harry. She had made a new
life for herself in her home just down the street from Harry. If the Dursleys figured out she was a
witch, that would ruin everything. They could not risk Arabella's position being given away. It was
too dangerous for her.
Minerva McGonagall was currently in Bulgaria, along with Professor Sprout. After the
Triwizard Tournament, the Bulgarians felt that even after all that happened, even after Hogwarts
had lost a champion, that the tournament was set up for a Hogwarts victory. Crouch was the head
of international magical cooperation, but with him dead, they needed to send someone to talk
things over with them, explain what had happened. Percy Weasley really should have gone, but
much to his indignation, the ministry didn't think him experienced or qualified enough to handle
such delicate matters. They asked Dumbledore to send someone he trusted to fix matters, someone
with a cool head and good diplomatic skills. Naturally, he had chosen Minerva.
Professor Sprout had gone with her to as a representative of the Diggory family, to kind of
appeal to their hearts, to show that Hogwarts had not cheated, and had lost a young man with a
bright future.
Dumbledore himself could not go to get Harry out simply because the ministry had horrible
timing. He had gotten an owl from Minister Fudge not two days after school let out saying that he
was willing to meet with Dumbledore and rationally discuss the whole "You-Know-Who issue".
Dumbledore was skeptical as to what Fudge's idea of rational was, but he nevertheless agreed to
the meeting. He was hoping he might also be able to make an appeal for a trial for Sirius, but he
had to be sure that Fudge wasn't going to lose it again first. The meeting was scheduled for half an
hour from now, and couldn't be postponed. Dumbledore knew from experience that most ministry
meetings could take several days to complete. Participants often had to take pepper-upper potion to
keep themselves awake during the long hours.
So with everyone who was cleared to enter Harry's house unable to do so, he had to not
only take the charm down, but find someone to get him. Neither were a problem, except that after
the charm was down, they had to wait five hours for the aftereffects to wear off so the house could
actually be seen. That also worried Dumbledore. A lot could happen in five hours. A lot.
There were no other teachers who stayed at Hogwarts over the summer holidays, except
Hagrid, and he was currently on a mission to meet with the giants with Madame Maxime. Argus
Filch also stayed at the school, but Dumbledore would feel much better sending someone who not
only could do magic, but also cared if Harry got out alright.
There were only two people he could think of to do the job. He raised himself from the
desk and left his office, heading for the Gryffindor common room.
When he reached the portrait, the Fat Lady said hello and swung open immediately for him
to enter. There, laying on the couch in front of the fire, was a large shaggy black dog.
"Hello, Sirius."
The dog jerked his head up, surprised. When he saw who it was, he jumped off the couch
and changed into his human form.
"Hello, Professor Dumbledore. Have another mission for me?" He had finished his last
mission a day ago, and was already becoming restless.
"In a sense. Sirius, I think you'd better sit down. This is going to be a long story."
The two sat on the couch, and Dumbledore began. He told Sirius about Molly Weasley's
call, and Harry's glasses. Then of Arabella's visit to the Dursley's. Sirius was, to say the least,
incredibly worried about his godson. Dumbledore told him about what Arabella had found, and
the red rings around the Dursley's pupils. Sirius started to ask what that meant, but Dumbledore
held up a hand and told him to ask questions when he was done. He went on to tell him about why
no one else but Sirius himself could get Harry out, but he would have help.
When he finished, he only had fifteen minutes until he had to floo over to the ministry. He
asked Sirius for his questions.
"What do you mean by 'red rings around their pupils'? What does that mean? Does it have
to do with you-know-who?" Sirius's voice was a little unsteady with fear.
"Yes. I figured you would ask that. Well, I guess I'll start from the beginning. When
Voldemort was in power, he used all three unforgivable curses at his will, am I correct?"
"Yes." Sirius said this as if he didn't know where the conversation was going, and maybe a
little part of him didn't want to know.
"Well, after awhile, Voldemort grew tired of these curses. He wanted a curse that was not
thousands of years old, but something people would strictly associate with him. He and several of
his followers come up with many new curses. He only taught them to his Death Eaters, and they
are under a magical contract never to tell anyone else how to perform them. None of them have a
name, so we usually just call them by what they do.
"Among these curses was what we simply called the 'temperament curse'. When someone
is placed under this curse, it caused all of their emotions and feelings to go out of control. If, say,
someone who hated you was placed under the curse, their feelings would be magnified a
thousandfold, and may cause them to do things that aren't normal for their character. So is the
case with Harry's relatives. They hate him, possibly abnormally so *without* the curse, but they
would never hurt him. They are too afraid of what might happen. But under the curse, they don't
care. They would care about one thing and one thing only: venting their hatred. The same goes for
someone who is in love, or someone who is sad. Whatever emotion they felt towards anyone was
increased.
"I need to tell you this, Sirius. This will not be pleasant to hear. I want you ro promise me
to stay calm. This is hard enough as it is." Sirius nodded.. "When someone is injured by someone
else under this curse, which we are assuming Harry has been, the wounds he has sustained . . .
they hurt more that they normally would. Just as the feelings would be magnified, so would the
pain of an wounds. A bruise would feel like a broken bone. And also . . . we won't be able to heal
him until the curse is lifted. That is one of the reasons this curse is known as one of the worst that
Voldemort came up with."
"What do you mean *one*?"
"The curse . . . it cannot be lifted by just anyone . . . It must be lifted by the person who
placed it on them in the first place. This means, if Harry is hurt, we must find the Death Eater who
placed it on them, and he must take it off himself."
Sirius, by this time was on the edge of his seat, ready to go and rescue Harry right away.
But there were still questions he wanted answered, and he knew he couldn't get into the Dursley's
house for at least five hours. "But I don't get it. Why are there red rings around their eyes? I don't
know of any other curses leaving side effects besides what they are supposed to do in the first
place."
"All of Voldemort's curses left some kind of side effect. That is what happens when a
curse is invented. Curses that don't leave trademarks are natural curses. They come from magic
itself, they have always existed. Unnatural curses always leave trademark signs, and some of them
are quite unpleasant. Some of the side effects of the curses were worse than the curses
themselves."
"Why do I not know about these curses? If You-Know-Who invented them when he came into
power, shouldn't I know about them? I *was* around then."
"These curses were very deadly, and dangerous, but not perfected until very near the date
when Voldemort's attack on the Potters. No one dared use them after Voldemort's downfall, for
fear of being associated with him and sent to Azkaban."
"Alright." Sirius closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Just tell me what to do,
and I'm there."
"Why don't we go to my office. You can floo over to Arabella's, and I will send help. You
can think up a plan while you are waiting for the charm on Harry's house to wear off."
They went to Dumbledore's office, and without a word, Sirius picked up some floo
powder and threw it into the fire. "Arabella Figg's!"
Once Sirius had left, Dumbledore had to smile. That man loved his godson so much that
he hadn't even asked who Dumbledore was sending. Dumbledore know that Sirius trusted him,
but what if he had sent someone who would send him right back to Azkaban? He was glad that
Sirius could trust him enough to know he wouldn't do such a thing.
He also didn't ask if Arabella knew of his innocence, which she thankfully did. She insisted
she know everything about Harry if she was going to watch over him. She didn't want to hex
anyone who didn't deserve it.
Dumbledore now only had five minutes to take down the charm and get Sirius help. He
took out his wand and said a few choice words. That was one of the reasons he liked this charm. It
allowed him to place it and take it off without apparating all the way sown to Harry's.
He then picked up some powder, and threw it in the fire and yelled "Remus Lupin!"
Remus's head appeared in the fire as Dumbledore thought to himself how lucky he was
that Remus was even near a fireplace. "Remus, I trust you are not busy . . ."
* * *
Sirius landed on his knees in Arabella Figg's living room. He never would get used to the
floo system. He stood up and began dusting himself off.
"Sirius Black, you are getting soot all over my clean carpet!"
He looked up to see a smiling Arabella Figg watching him from the doorway. "Sorry." He
mumbled.
"It's alright." She flicked her wand and the soot flew out of the carped and back into the
chimney. "It happens all the time. I should have known Dumbledore would send you. I thought it
was going to be one of the professors. Don't know why I couldn't just go myself, but you always
do what Dumbledore says, right?"
He smiled back at her. "Right." Just then, someone else came out of the fireplace, much
more gracefully than Sirius had. Sirius stared in shock.
"Moony? I haven't seen you for ages! I didn't know Dumbledore was sending you!"
"Well, who were you expecting, Minister Fudge? Or maybe a Dementor?"
"I . . ." Sirius was cut off by being pulled int a hug by the remaining marauder.
"I'd hate to interrupt this happy reunion, but would anyone like some tea? We need to
figure out what you are going to do."
"What *are* we doing, exactly?" Asked Lupin.
"What, you mean? Dumbledore didn't tell you?" Sirius was surprised that Dumbledore
would send Remus without telling him what was happening.
"He didn't exactly have time. All he said was that he had to go to the ministry soon, and
that I should floo here, because you needed my help. He said you would explain it to me."
With that they went to the kitchen, and Sirius, with the help of Arabella, filled Remus in on
'what exactly he was doing' there, as they waited anxiously for the five hours to end.
* * *
Harry awoke to find everything completely dark. He moaned and tried to get up, but his
head seemed to be weighing him down. He turned onto his side and saw a very familiar sight. He
has stared at this wall every night for ten years while he tried to fall asleep. He was back in the
cupboard.
He didn't remember much about the last couple of days, but he figured that he had fallen
asleep or passed out in his room, and one of the Dursley's must have taken him down here. He
tried to move again, and he felt fire rip through his head and chest. He moaned again but it caught
in his throat and he began to cough. The cough rattled in his chest and burned his throat.
"Great. Just what I need is to catch Dudley's cold now. As if this wasn't enough . . ." He
thought. Just breathing was making his throat hurt, and he couldn't help but think of how fast he
had caught it. Maybe it was from him already being weak.
Something he couldn't understand was how much he hurt. He hadn't been beaten hard
enough to prevent him from sitting up. Yeah, it hurt like nobody's business, but he had been under
the crutiatus before - the most painful curse in the world - and he had been able to move.
He reached up to the doorknob and wasn't surprised to find that it was locked. Why not?
Of course the Dursley's couldn't look over just one little thing. He began to cough even harder
than he did before. He tried to stop it. He didn't know where the Dursleys were, but he didn't
want them to know he was awake. The harder he tried not to cough, however, the worse the urge
seemed to be. Finally he couldn't hold it in and it burst out, incredibly painful and sending shoots
of fire all over his chest. He heard footsteps descending the stairs above him. Well, at least he
could always tell when Vernon was coming. Just listen for the heavy footsteps.
The door to the cupboard rattled as it was unlocked. Finally, it flew open, and there was a
steaming Vernon Dursley in a pair of blue and white striped pajamas.
"You, once again. WE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP UP THERE! How is anyone supposed
to sleep with you making that infernal racket, boy! We need our sleep, especially Dudley! How
dare you!" With that, he reached in the cupboard and lifted Harry out by the front of his shirt. He
picked Harry off the ground and threw him against the wall. "I thought you would have learned
your lesson by now, you foolish delinquent!"
Harry barely heard what Vernon was saying to him. He had hit his head against the wall,
right where Petunia had struck him with the hockey stick, and there were stars dancing all over his
uncle's face. He felt a foot slam against his chest, and wondered why it felt like Vernon was
wearing steal toed boots instead of slippers. The foot connected again, and Harry felt a snap inside
his chest.
Suddenly he could barely breathe. He coughed again and felt a trickle of blood roll down
his chin. He coughed so hard that he wouldn't have been shocked if a lung came up one of these
times. Vernon payed no attention to his nephew, now bleeding all over the floor. All he knew was
that he hated this *creature* and he had to hurt it.
Harry felt his wrist snap when Vernon pulled him up off the floor. He dared to look at it. It was
the same hand that he had burned earlier. It was hanging at an odd angle, completely useless. His
entire body seemed to be wrenched in a vice of stabbing pain. Vernon pushed him against the wall,
banging his head again and again, making more noise than when Harry had been coughing and had
woken Vernon in the first place.
Harry's head hit the wall one last time. He felt himself being shoved into the cupboard before
everything went black once more.
* * *
Sirius looked at the muggle-style clock for what must have been the thousandth time in the
past four and a half hours. He couldn't get an image of Harry's face battered and eyes open in a
death stare out of his head. Remus and Arabella tried to tell him that it wasn't his fault, but he
couldn't help but feel that everything bad in Harry's life was because of him. If Harry died, he
didn't know what he would do. Of course, there was a chance that Harry wasn't injured badly at
all, but with every passing minute, Sirius felt his panic building until it threatened to overtake him.
All he knew was that he *had* to get Harry out of there, and yet he still had a half an hour wait.
After he and Remus figured out their plan, they had sat at the kitchen table, listening to
Arabella tell stories about Harry when he was younger and she would babysit him. She told them
of the look Harry always had when he came over, kind of like he was dreading something. She
said that she would show him pictures of her cats to relax him, but that seemed to make it worse.
Remus and Sirius burst out laughing and Remus gently told her that it was her cat pictures that
Harry was dreading in the first place.
They had sat in silence for the last half an hour, having run out of things to say. Sirius
himself was lost in memories of Harry as a baby. Remus was thinking of his brief stint as Harry's
professor. Arabella was thinking of her cats, and other times when she had babysat Harry.
Sirius counted down the last twenty minutes before they left in his head. The clock seemed
to slow down, even go backwards, whenever he watched it. Finally it was time to go.
They made sure they had their wands. The three of them left the house together. Arabella
insisted on going along, and waiting outside incase anything happened and she had to get help, or
hold off the ministry until Sirius escaped. They walked down the street and stopped in front of an
empty lot that Arabella assured them was Harry's house.
The three of them stood there, waiting for the charm to wear off. Just five more minutes,
and they could go get Harry.
Thank y'all (yes, I actually say y'all. No, I am not a hick.) so much for the reviews. I don't think
that there are any questions that I can answer here, because the answers are either in the chapter,
or would ruin the plot (and frankly, I can't remember any of them.)
There will probably be more of a wait between chapters from now on, even though I know that I
don't exactly post every day, but I am not really satisfied with the last two chapters, and I want to
spend more time on them rather than just pop them out as soon as they're done. I don't like getting
stuck in plot-holes. Not fun.
Soon I think I am going to do a little section where I thank all you beautiful reviewers. You make
me so happy! If I do that, it will be later though. Not right now cause I'm too lazy to actually look
up all the reviewers.
Toodles.
~Avidia~