Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belong to their respective owners.
A/N Thanks for the few people who reviewed. These reviews keep me going¡K
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Chapter 7 ¡¥Why¡K?¡¦
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Harry opened his emerald eyes. The first thing he noticed was the throbbing pain in his lightening-bolt scar.
It meant Danger.
It meant that You-Know-Who was near.
It meant that he was captured finally, despite all their effort to try to escape, despite the death of the old lady whom Harry had known of all his life but had just started to really know her. Harry¡¦s heart writhed painfully at the thought of Mrs. Figg. Why had she been so stupid? Why had she jumped in front of him? He was not worth it. He was definitely not worth it. Another life¡Kanother life gone because of him. What had he done to deserve the sacrifice of so many innocent people? What had they done to deserve such a meaningless death? Why hadn¡¦t they just let him die? Why bother to save his life? He was just a worthless boy. He would not meet up to the expectation of anyone.
And if he was captured, would that meant Sirius had also¡KNO. He stopped himself. He could not bear the thought that his godfather had died. He could not live with the thought that his godfather, his only remaining family, had died because of him.
Several faint ¡¥ pop¡¦s behind him made Harry stood up. And for the first time he noticed himself was in a large and dark chamber. Several death eaters who had just apparated behind him walked pass him and knelt down in front of a throne¡Kbut there was no one sitting there.
Why had they ignored him? Harry pondered silently. Suddenly the pain in Harry¡¦s scar intensified. He clutched at his scar tightly and looked at the throne again ¡V there sat the most feared dark lord of the century ¡V Voldemort. And apparently he was not in a good mood. He glared at each of the death eaters in turn with his red eyes. But why was him acting as if Harry was not there?
¡¥Where is the boy?¡¦ He hissed. ¡¥Have I not told you not to return unless you get him in your hands?¡¦
No one dared to answer.
¡¥I¡¦ve planned everything. I¡¦ve planned everything so close to perfection ¡V except that I¡¦ve overestimated your power. I¡¦ve overestimated your ability.¡¦
¡¥But my Lord, you don¡¦t know¡Kwe haven¡¦t thought that the boy¡¦s power would be so great¡Kand Figg and Black were in the way ¡V ¡¦
¡¥I want no excuses!¡¦ Voldemort bellowed and the death eaters bowed their head even lower. ¡¥And Avery, I wanted you to bring the boy back alive. Why did you try to use the killing curse on him?¡¦
¡¥I¡KI haven¡¦t¡Kno¡KI¡KI was just¡K ¡¦
¡¥Crucio.¡¦
Avery¡¦s scream mingled with Harry¡¦s own as pain exploded in his scar. The world blacked out.
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After taking a cup of coffee from the innkeeper, Sirius went to the bathroom of the small room he rented in a small street in London. He splashed cold water on his face in an attempt to clear his mind and to keep it awake. He had got to be alert. He didn¡¦t bother to look into the mirror ¡V he didn¡¦t really want to know how awful he looked then.
Sipping his coffee slowly, Sirius resumed the place he had been taking for nearly ten hours ¡V the bedside chair of the only small bed in this room. The occupant of the bed was sleeping, not very soundly though, out of extreme exhaustion both physically and mentally. Sirius put down the paper cup on the bedside table and again observed his beloved godson with his pale blue eyes full of sorrow. He gently brushed the stray strand of wild black hair backward from his forehead. The lightening bolt scar stood clearly out of his pale and otherwise smooth skin. It reminded Sirius once again of the tragic past¡K it pained him more that the boy he had sworn to protect had once more been wounded deeply in his heart. And Arabella was gone¡K she was his aunt¡K James¡¦ and his mentor¡K a dear friend¡Kit should have been him, but not her. Never her. What happened thirteen hours ago still stood too vividly in his mind.
Sirius would never forget the despair he felt as he saw the killing curse sped towards Harry. Sirius knew he could do nothing ¡V he would not be fast enough ¡V but his reasoning had already left him.
¡¥NO!!!!!!!!!¡¦ he cried out and he lunged towards Harry. Move! Get out of the curse¡¦s way! His mind screamed at Harry, but then Harry had closed his eyes and sat motionlessly on the floor. He wants to give up! No! How could he! Fight it! Don¡¦t let it get you!
Sirius knew that he could never make it there in time¡Kbut someone was faster. He could do nothing but watch as the frail body of Arabella was hit directly by the curse and then her body fell and crushed into Harry.
Sirius could certainly never clear that image out of his head ¡V the expression of pure anguish on Harry¡¦s face the moment when he reluctantly opened his eyes, already knowing what he would face, but totally unable and refused to accept it. His usually bright green eyes darkened as he trembled all over and tried very hard to push the body on top of him away. Then he flung himself on the floor, burying his head completely in his arms. Sirius had then finally reached Harry¡¦s side. He couldn¡¦t bring himself to look at his aunt¡¦s body. He could not bear to see the hollow expression in those usually cheerful eyes. He gathered Harry up in one arm and cursed the first few death eaters that had gotten in the room.
¡¥BASTARD!¡¦ he roared. Whoever did this will pay. Rage was building up inside of him, threatening to burst through the surface¡K and he didn¡¦t bother to maintain it. He let it all out through his wand. The moment a death eater stepped into the room, he would had him rolling on the floor in pain. Then he turned to the murderer who was still hovering outside, stunned by the power displayed by Sirius.
¡¥ACCIO!¡¦
The broom but not his rider flew directly into Sirius¡¦ waiting hand. The rider screamed as he fell down onto the ground with a loud crash. Sirius had not sent a killing curse to the ground on where the murderer lay in blood to make sure that he was really dead because his instinct to protect Harry kicked in. Sirius mounted the broom and secured Harry¡¦s numb body in front of him with one hand then took off from the window. Harry eventually turned unconscious.
Sirius had had a lot of troubles with the death eaters chasing Harry and him, nevertheless he managed to get rid of the death eaters and get safely to an inn in London after flying for three hours. Sirius knew he ought to contact Remus and Dumbledore, and that he should bring Harry to a safer place such as Hogwarts, but it was the farthest he could get with the unconscious Harry without falling off the broom ¡V he was exhausted.
Sirius knew the death eaters were still hot on their trail, so he had not dared to leave Harry¡¦s side for more than three minutes since they got there. And he had to make sure that he would be there when Harry wakes up ¡V he didn¡¦t want Harry to face the aftermath of the horrible ordeal alone.
Harry stirred in his sleep. Sirius quickly got to his side. He thought that Harry was waking, but he was not. He seemed to be having a dream. Then he started to thrash about on the bed. Sirius shook Harry¡¦s shoulder gently.
¡¥Harry, wake up!¡¦ Sirius increased his force applied on Harry¡¦s shoulder as cold sweat appeared on Harry¡¦s forehead and he shivered.
He was having a nightmare! Perhaps one of those connected to Voldemort!
¡¥Harry! It¡¦s a dream! Wake up! ¡¦ Sirius shouted more frantically but Harry just plainly refused to open his eyes. He shivered more violently and screamed, his hand shakily reached up to clutch at his scar. Sirius continued to shake him. Again Sirius felt the same hopelessness and despair. He could do nothing. Nothing at all to help his godson.
¡¥Open you eyes! Harry! OPEN YOUR EYES FOR ME!!¡¦ Harry snapped open his panic-stricken eyes and tried to get up, but was restricted by Sirius¡¦ firm grip. Harry kept screaming and kicking madly to free himself and there was a wild look on his face.
¡¥Harry! It¡¦s a dream!¡¦ Sirius clapped his hand firmly on Harry¡¦s mouth to silence him. Harry¡¦s scream was muffled. Then slowly he stopped to scream or struggle and regained a bit of his calmness. Sirius released his grip and Harry gasped heavily for breath. When Harry¡¦s breath became more normal, Sirius slided his arm under Harry¡¦s back to help him to sit up.
¡¥Sirius¡K¡¦ Harry said as he raised his head to look at his godfather. ¡¥I¡¦ve a dream¡Ka nightmare. I saw Voldemort¡K Mrs. Figg was killed¡K You were not with me. Tell me,¡¦ Harry grabbed Sirius¡¦ hand tightly, ¡¥tell me that it was all a dream.¡¦ Sirius¡¦ heart ached painfully at the sight of his pleading eyes. No matter how badly he wanted all this to be a dream, Sirius could not change what had happened. Not even for his godson. However, it would be so cruel of him to confirm Harry¡¦s worst fear. How could he do it?
¡¥Sirius¡K¡¦ Harry¡¦s grip on his hand tightened, his shaky voice indicating that he was close to tears.
¡¥Harry, you have to face it.¡¦ Sirius tried to keep his voice as steady as possible and looked Harry directly at the eye. ¡¥Arabella Figg is dead.¡¦
Harry¡¦s hand released their grip and fell down numbly at his side. Tears filled his emerald eyes quickly. Sirius knew that Harry¡¦s world was collapsing. He swiftly engulfed Harry in a tight hug with his strong arms.
¡¥Why¡K¡¦ Harry said broken-heartedly between sobs. ¡¥Why hadn¡¦t she just let me die? Why? Why¡K¡¦
¡¥It¡¦s not your fault.¡¦ Sirius rocked Harry¡¦s shaking body gently. ¡¥If it is anybody¡¦s fault, it¡¦s Voldemort¡¦s. It¡¦s mine. It should have been me, not her. ¡¦ ¡¥NO!!¡¦ Harry yelled in a horrified voice and slipped his arms around Sirius¡¦ back and held onto him with all his strength. ¡¥I¡¦ve lost¡K too much¡KI can¡¦t¡Kcan¡¦t afford to lose you¡K¡¦
¡¥Nor do I, Harry. Nor do I ¡K¡¦
¡¥But Sirius¡KI barely start to know her¡Kshe¡K she felt guilty about not taking me¡K she¡K I ¡K why it had to turn out like this? Why? Sirius, Why?¡¦ Sirius had no answer for his godson¡¦s desperate question. He knew that Harry understood better than anybody on how life is unfair¡Kbut it was just too harsh for Harry. Sirius didn¡¦t understand himself¡K if there really is a God out there, why had He let all those innocent people suffer and die? Why had He let all those devil roam the earth still? All the people and things Sirius valued so much had all slipped away from him like water in his hand that he could not hold¡Khe had tried¡Khe had tried his best¡K so had Harry¡K but it was not enough.
Harry had fallen asleep again out of exhaustion. Sirius eased him carefully back onto the bed. The face of Harry seemed so pale¡K Sirius placed his thumb on Harry¡¦s tear stained face and wiped the tears gently away. ¡¥James, Lily, if you are out there somewhere, protect your son.¡¦ Sirius whispered. His vision blurred and he suddenly felt a trail of wetness went down his face. He automatically reached up and felt the wetness¡K He was crying.
¡¥Arabella¡Kat least now you are with James and Lily again¡K¡¦ he covered his eyes with his hand.
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--Half an hour after Arabella Figg¡¦s death¡XA young auror, Douglas Anderson, had just finished questioning the muggle Vernon Dursley on what happened and the whereabouts of Harry Potter. He and twenty more aurors had been sent to this area when the ministry knew of the attack. It puzzled everyone greatly on why the alarm had not gone off the moment death eaters stepped near the house where Harry Potter lived. And it caused panic to raise in every one of them ¡V the twenty aurors sent there ¡V when they discovered that Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, was nowhere to be find. They reported it to the ministry instantly and started the search without another moment of delay. It made Douglas¡¦ head hurt as he thought of what would appear on the Daily Prophet tomorrow morning.
He had volunteered to interrogate the muggle, and regretted slightly as he discovered what kind of person the muggle was. And not to mention that Harry Potter lived with this muggle¡K maybe Harry Potter could not tolerate this muggle anymore and just ran away? But the damage done to this house and the surrounding area suggested otherwise.
The muggle had not been very cooperative, nevertheless he told Douglas all he had witnessed moments before Harry¡¦s departure from the house. And indeed it was very strange. A tall man in muggle clothes with shoulder length black hair and pale blue eyes had led Potter out of the house. The weirdest part was that the description of the man fitted those of the infamous murderer, Sirius Black. However it just did not make sense. Why would the Harry Potter go with the man who betrayed his parents? Or why would Sirius Black, who were said to long to kill Harry Potter, help him escape? It did not make sense at all!
Or was something not what it seemed? Douglas had learnt through his six years experience as an auror that the Ministry was not faultless. In fact it had made too many mistakes since Fudge had became the minister. The most recent one was his refusal to accept that You-Know-Who had indeed returned. And this is obvious now, isn¡¦t it? Death eaters would not all of a sudden gather and attack in such a large scale. You-Know-Who must be behind them.
¡¥Douglas.¡¦
A familiar voice rang behind him. He turned and was surprised to find that Albus Dumbledore was standing behind him. ¡¥Professor Dumbledore? What a surprise to meet you here!¡¦ Dumbledore smiled politely in return. He had scarcely changed since Douglas graduated from Hogwarts eight years ago. He was still the tall and lean old man with his white and almost silvery beard tugged in his belt. His usual radiant of power, however , seemed a little dulled and the smile on his ancient face was a bit wary¡Kbut of course¡Kwhy wouldn¡¦t he be sober after something like this had happened?
¡¥It had been a long time since we last met each other¡KI was glad to hear that you had been doing very well, Douglas¡Kbut let¡¦s talk about the more urgent matter first. Can you tell me about what the Dursley had told you?¡¦ Douglas nodded. Although it was against the policy to tell someone out of the Ministry about such thing, Douglas knew Dumbledore was their only hope in finding where Harry Potter was. He was their only hope in defeating You-Know-Who.
¡¥I see¡K¡¦ after telling Dumbledore all he knew, Douglas suddenly found himself under the piercing gaze from the sapphire blue eyes of Dumbledore.
¡¥Douglas, am I right in thinking that you are on our side?¡¦
The seriousness in Dumbledore¡¦s tone made Douglas stop to think for a moment. What Dumbledore was asking for was no laughing matter¡Konce he gave him the affirmative answer, it would mean absolute commitment and even greater risks. However, such things certainly could not make him back down.
¡¥Of course.¡¦
¡¥Follow me then.¡¦
Without another word, Dumbledore walked towards Dursley¡¦s house. He went straight to the front door and knocked. Douglas waited at his side.
¡¥What do you want now?¡¦ the furious voice of Mr. Dursley rang behind the door and then the door was swung open. When he found that it was Dumbledore who stood outside, his anger seemed a little subdued and was replaced by something else¡V he was afraid of him. He tried to hide his fear.
¡¥I have told all I know to that man.¡¦ Vernon pointed at Douglas. ¡¥I¡¦ve nothing more to tell! Leave us alone!¡¦ Douglas could see that Mrs. Dursley and her son were just standing behind Mr. Dursley. ¡¥I¡¦m Albus Dumbledore. Surely you know who I am?¡¦ Dumbledore ignored Mr. Dursley¡¦s protest. ¡¥Now¡Kcan Mrs. Dursley and Dudley also step forward?¡¦ at the mention of their names, the two of them walked closer to the door to see why they were called.
What followed left Douglas stared at Dumbledore with his eyes widened. With a speed that was simply too fast for a man so old, Dumbledore took out his wand and pointed it at the Dursleys. ¡¥Obliviate.¡¦ The Dursleys did not even have the time to show their surprise at being held at wand point when the curse hit all three of them. They showed the standard reactions to being hit by a memory curse. They seemed to be disoriented for a moment. Then while murmuring something under their breath, they turned and walked back into their house. Dumbledore closed the front door for them.
¡¥Why did you do that?¡¦ after a long while, Douglas finally had himself under control and asked.
¡¥I removed their memory about meeting Sirius Black. I suppose that you have not told anybody about that?¡¦
¡¥I have not. ¡¦
¡¥Then I want to be assured that no one else except the two of us knew that Sirius Black had been here tonight. And also no one else should know about what I¡¦m about to tell you, at least not without my consent. ¡¦
Douglas nodded solemnly. His heartbeat quickened a little in anticipation.
¡¥Please don¡¦t intercept until I finish. The murder of thirteen people the day after James and Lily Potter¡¦s death was not committed by Sirius Black. The murderer was Peter Pettigrew. ¡¦
Douglas wasn¡¦t sure if he was dreaming or not.
¡¥Maybe I can tell you in detail if you want later, but I can only let you have a brief idea now. Peter was in fact the one who betrayed the Potters and told Voldemort the whereabouts of them. He was cornered by Sirius after James and Lily¡¦s death and then in order to escape from justice and to keep himself alive, he faked his own death and killed thirteen people. Then he fled, leaving Sirius to be blamed about the murder he had not committed. Without a trial, Sirius was sent to Azkaban. I had only known of his innocent a year ago when he escaped Azkaban and came to Hogwarts. Sirius is now protecting Harry from the death eaters.¡¦
Dumbledore paused. And Douglas took this chance to voice his opinion. ¡¥It¡¦s hard to believe.¡¦
¡¥I know.¡¦
¡¥But I believe you. And what do you want me to do by telling me this?¡¦
¡¥Ah, exactly to the point. This is one of the things that I appreciate about you¡Kthere are two things that I need you to do for me. Firstly, whenever you catch wind of where Sirius and Harry are, please get there as soon as possible and give them a hand.¡¦
Douglas knew that Dumbledore wanted him to prevent Sirius Black from being arrested by aurors.
¡¥Secondly, I want you to keep an eye out for Peter. He is now working for Voldemort ¡V surely you know about the resurrection of Voldemort? ¡V and one of his hand is replaced by a silver hand. If circumstances allow, catch him and bring him to me.¡¦
¡¥I will.¡¦
Dumbledore patted the shoulder of the younger man gently. ¡¥I¡¦ve to get going¡Klots of things have to be done. I guess you¡¦re pretty busy yourself. See you later.¡¦
Douglas watched as Dumbledore walk a few steps away from him, then stopped and turned to him again.
¡¥Douglas, I appreciate what you¡¦re going to do for me and for the wizarding world.¡¦
Douglas nodded as Dumbledore disappeared with a faint ¡¥pop¡¦.
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If you are wondering, the apparition ward around Harry¡¦s house is lifted as he is no longer there. Nothing much happened, I guess¡Khopefully more will happen in the next chapter. Finally PLEASE REVIEW!