Unraveled
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Through the Forest
After taking a very deep breath, Fiona and Harry ventured into the forest. It seemed odd to Fiona that Voldemort would have such a strange forest. She realized something: it was December. She hardly had time lately to pay attention to the days of the week, let alone the month. She now realized what was missing: snow.
"Harry, doesn't it snow in England?" she asked.
He held her in his eyes for a moment, slightly bewildered by her sudden question. He nodded, "Of course, it snows in England. I know that it doesn't snow everywhere in America, but I thought you grew up in a place where it snows."
"Yes, it does. Usually. Sometimes, it just rains a lot. But, Harry, why isn't there snow here?"
Harry paused because Fiona had asked an excellent question. "Voldemort must have some kind of spell. I didn't think that there were wizards powerful enough to control the weather like this."
"But Merlin was. In fact, it feels a little warm in here," she observed as she noticed Harry's hair was going limp.
"You're right," he agreed. His mind started to go to work. It was definitely colder outside than inside the forest. The answer came to him as he notice the leaves quivering. "Snakes."
That simple word was enough to make Fiona jump. "SNAKES! Where?!" She frantically looked around her, searching for them.
"Fiona, calm down," said Harry gently. "Think about it. They need warmth to survive. Voldemort would have to keep the climate inside this forest just right for them. It's okay. I won't let anything happen to you. And another thing, what kind of Parselmouth are you?"
"Just because I can speak and understand them doesn't mean I want to," she replied as she shuddered.
Harry started to laugh. Fiona glared at him. "You know this isn't the time for you to be laughing," she said.
"You're just so cute," he chuckled. She stopped glaring and wondered how he could be so calm at a time like this. "Let's try to enjoy our walk, Fin," he continued as he held out his hand, which she took.
"How do you think the others are doing, Harry?" Fiona asked, noticing that Harry had called her by her nickname for the first time.
"I have no idea. I just know that if we don't do anything about this now, we're all dead. Voldemort has to be stopped once and for all."
"Harry, I'm scared."
"What? You don't think I am."
"But you seem so calm."
"You're the only thing that's keeping me from not shaking."
"Our parents are so brave. To think that three of them laid down their lives for us. My father is either the bravest or stupidest man alive."
"To knowingly walk into Voldemort's hands like this, it takes a little bit of both."
"You've gotten more philosophically since I've met you. You are very wise now. Like Yoda."
"What? You're comparing me to a puppet with bad grammar?"
"Okay, you're more like Sensei Ran, happy?"
"That's better."
They continued to walk along the forest carefully. They continued talking about what to do when they confronted Voldemort, but the conversation shifted to more day-to-day things. Neither of them were too comfortable because it felt like they were hiking towards their doom. They did not need a map because they could clearly see the towers of the castle above them.
After a while, they stopped to eat something from their packs. "I feel like we're just going out for a casual stroll," said Fiona.
"We shouldn't get too comfortable," agreed Harry as he took a sip of water. The flask would magically replenish itself once emptied halfway.
"Hey, what's this?" asked Fiona out loud as she found something in her pack. It was a chocolate frog. It was wrapped in a note. "It's from my dad, 'Fin, keep safe and good luck. Love, Dad.'" She tucked it back into the bag.
"Why don't you just eat it?"
"I think I'll save it for later. Um…" she started uncomfortably. "Harry, watch where your hand is going." Her cheeks were turning red.
"What about my hand?" asked Harry innocently.
"Your hand!" shouted Fiona.
Harry held up his hands. Fiona's eyes widened as she jumped up. A snake had slithered up to them while they were eating. "AAAAAAAAHHH!" she exclaimed in surprise.
"I'm sorry about her. Please just go away," said Harry in Parseltongue, which Fiona understood. She glared at him. He started laughing again. "Fin, it's only a little snake. Come on, relax."
"Oh, why did it have to be snakes?" she whined.
Harry laughed even harder. "You're just like Ron with his arachnophobia."
"It's not funny. Stop laughing. Everyone's afraid of something. What about you?"
"Dementors," he replied.
"You mean those hooded things that look like Death? The ones that attacked with Lucius Malfoy and Wormtail?"
Harry nodded. "Every time they come near me, I feel weak. I can remember the last moments of my parents' lives. I can hear their voices. Just before…"
"Before Voldemort murdered them," concluded Fiona. "At least your fear is more logical than mine. I don't know why I'm not totally afraid of him. Maybe, I'm not taking this seriously at all."
"It's better. You can fight him better that way."
"Harry, I'm sorry about what happened to your parents."
"Why are you apologizing for him? It's not your fault. It's Voldemort. He murdered them. You're just as much a victim of his than anyone else. It's a miracle that your mother came from him."
"According to my grandmother, that was the last time he was human. Did you know that my father's parents and brother fought against the Death Eaters as Aurors?"
Harry shook his head. He knew so little about his father's family and even less about Sirius', but it didn't surprise him that they were Aurors. "It's an endless cycle, Harry. Good and evil. It's a continuing battle. When one generation tires of it, another one takes its place. And so on. I don't think I could be an Auror."
"You're not going to be an Auror. You're the tie that links Avalon and this world together."
"What about you, Harry? Did you ever think of the future before this whole thing?"
"Yes, I was thinking of becoming an Auror like my parents, but I suppose destiny had other ideas," said Harry with a smile.
"You are going to seriously act as king?"
"I don't know. It all depends on my people. I don't know if they'll accept me or not."
"Most people are already in awe of the great Harry Potter, even though I have no idea what they really see," joked Fiona.
Harry leaned in and kissed her, catching her by surprise again. "Let's get going," he told her as he helped her up.
The forest became overcast. Fiona looked up wondering why. Figures dressed in long hoods descended upon them. She gripped Harry's arm. He pulled out his wand. "Dementors. There must be twenty of them," whispered Fiona, feeling a cold, biting feeling in her stomach.
"Expecto Patronum!" roared Harry. A white, ghostly stag erupted from his wand and charged at the Dementors, pushing them back and causing them to scatter. Fiona watched the stag. It was beautiful. The Dementors had fled, leaving their path once again clear.
"What a beautiful stag. It's a nice patronus."
"Your father told you about the Marauders, right? My father was Prongs, the stag," explained Harry.
"Our families seem bound to go through life together," said Fiona.
"I suppose," said Harry as he walked a little ahead of her. He wanted to make sure that the path was safe for her. However, he didn't realize that the forest was being control by Voldemort from within the castle. It wouldn't matter if Harry walked ahead of Fiona or behind her.
The vines wrapped around Fiona suddenly, covering her mouth. They pulled off her bows and arrows along with her pack. She struggled for air, but the vines kept her in place. She tried to reach for Harry, but he was too far ahead. Then, the vines dropped her to the ground, which gave way. The ground crumbled underneath her. "Harry!" she managed to scream. Harry whirled around and dashed back, he grabbing her hand. The reason why the forest was so warm was because of the natural hot springs that ran underground. Harry had never seen nor heard of anything like that before in England. He figured that Voldemort must have had it made.
"Harry! My cloak is wrapping around my legs," cried Fiona. Harry pulled at her and got her out of the water. "What is this?!" she shouted.
"I've got you," said Harry. He pulled her close to his. She felt cold to his touch. "My arrows. My bow."
"Shh. It's okay. Just stay still," he murmured as he pressed his lips against her forehead. He looked around him. The Dementors must have been the reconnaissance. They must have reported to Voldemort how far along the forest Harry and Fiona were. "I won't lose you here."
"Hey, I'm okay. Why are you scared all of a sudden?" asked Fiona as she smiled at him. "Let's go and get my stuff back before the snakes come." He helped her to her feet. They quickly went and retrieved Fiona's gear.
"It's sort of hard you know. We know what we're headed towards. What a choice to have to make: either we take our time and let the creatures or plants attack us or go forward and let Voldemort get us," said Harry.
"I thought we agreed to meet him," said Fiona.
"Then, what are we waiting for?"
This time Harry and Fiona walked side by side. Fiona used her fire magic to gently warm her things. She had no choice, but to let the chocolate frog dry on its own. They had barely gone halfway through the forest when dark came. Neither of them wanted to continue walking through the forest until the morning.
"Why don't we just stop here for the evening? There's no point in continuing in this darkness. Let's camp here for the night. This is a good a place as any," said Harry.
"Okay," said Fiona as she looked around. It was pitch black except for the light from their wands.
"I think we should start a fire. We have to make sure it doesn't burn out during the evening," said Harry.
"I'll make the fire," said Fiona. She concentrated and a ball of fire appeared. She allowed it float. There was no need to worry about burning something. Harry took off his cloak and laid it out on the ground after clearing off the leaves.
"Let's eat something then get some sleep," he said.
"But, Harry, I don't think we should sleep," said Fiona. He was acting like it was a camping trip.
"Fine, we'll just stay awake," said Harry. She took a seat on his cloak and they began to eat some food. "We should be well rested. I think it might take another day to make it through here. Snape said it would take three days to get through the labyrinth. I don't know how long it will take to get through the water. I think that might be the toughest route."
"I'm worried about my dad," whispered Fiona as she pulled her knees up to her chest.
"We'll meet him soon," assured Harry as he put his arm around her. "Why don't you sleep? I'll keep watch."
Fiona shook her head. "I'm not sleepy."
"Come on. Just rest for a bit. You've had a rougher day than me. I won't let anything happen to you. And I promise not to do anything."
Fiona looked at Harry suspiciously. "Great. Now that's supposed to make me relax," she said sarcastically.
"Hey! I've never done anything to you before!" exclaimed Harry, feeling very insulted.
"You stole my first kiss!" fired back Fiona.
"Hey, I've kissed you more since then, why are you so angry? And if I remember correctly you kissed me once on your own."
Fiona's cheeks turned bright red as she looked away from him. "Give it back!" she shouted.
"No, I'm won't!"
"I'm going to sleep!"
"Fine, you do that," said Harry, happy because he'd got her to rest. He put his cloak over her and waited to make sure she was really asleep before putting up some wards to protect them. After that he finally fell asleep with Fiona in his arms and a smile on his face.
Harry woke up just before dawn and found that Fiona was still asleep. He didn't move, despite his arm feeling numb because Fiona was resting on it. He smiled as he watched her sleep. Fiona's eyes fluttered open and she noticed that he wasn't wearing his glasses. "Hey! I thought you were the lookout. How long did I sleep? What kind of lookout are you? Why aren't you wearing your glasses?"
"And a good morning to you, too," said Harry.
Fiona got up and stretched. She got some food out of her pack with some water. Harry stretched and tried to get the feeling back in his arms. He got his glasses and put them on. Fiona ran her finger through her hair to make it look neater. "At least there's something good about having hair like yours, Harry. It won't make a difference what you do, at least you can say you're hair's naturally like that."
"I knew you'd envy my hair sooner or later," joked Harry as he settled down next to her to have some food and water.
Fiona laughed. "I don't want to make your ego anymore bloated than it already is," she said.
"You sound like Malfoy," he observed.
"I've spent too much time around him. He's probably in Avalon right now. I think they might be using my grandmother's mirror to see how everyone is doing. I would give anything right now to have her water magic. I may not want to see the future, but I'd like to see the present for everyone else."
"There's nothing we can do, but focus on our task right now. We need to get to the castle," said Harry.
"I'm way ahead of you," said Fiona as she stood up and put her cloak back on, which they had used as a blanket the night before. Harry pulled up his cloak and dusted it off before putting it back on. They put their gear back on.
"We've got to get moving. Let's eat as we walk," said Harry.
"Sure. Harry, what do you think he'll do to us?" asked Fiona.
"He'll probably try to kill us straight off," replied Harry.
"But, if he really wanted us died, he would have already attacked with something stronger than vines and a couple of Dementors. No, I think he's keeping us alive. Just to play with us. He's a sick and twisted being," said Fiona.
"You're probably right. For someone who's never personally faced off with him, you can read him pretty well," said Harry.
"I read my mother's diary. All of it. I had to figure out if she wrote something in it that we could use. There was nothing about the castle in it. There was only a little bit about him. She was terrified of him. He's a lot of different things. He's sadistic Harry. Ideally, he would like to draw out our deaths, if possible."
"He's not human. There's no way he's human," said Harry grimly.
"You've met up with him more times than anyone and survived, Harry. But, my father said that the last time wasn't successful at all."
"It's my fault that Voldemort is back, Fiona. It's not your fault that your mother died. It's mine."
Fiona stopped dead in her tracks and looked at him. He stopped. "I was the forth participant in the Triwizard Tournament last year. One of the two from Hogwarts against two other schools in Europe. There was this huge maze in the Quidditch field last year filled with loads of creatures we had to get past. I made it through and got the other representative from Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory, to join me. We touched the cup in the maze together. It ended up being a portkey. It was a trap. Voldemort had spent an entire year making a trap. You see my mother died protecting me. There was an ancient magic that kept Voldemort from touching me. He had to break that spell."
Harry paused. He hadn't turned back to face Fiona. He couldn't "Last few times I met Voldemort, I did it alone. So, no one else could really get hurt. I mean before in the Chamber of Secrets, Ginny was with me, but she was still safe because she was passed out. No, last year was different. Voldemort ordered his Death Eaters to kill Cedric. In an instant, he was gone. Just a quick flash of green light and he dropped dead. Wormtail came and tied me up. He drew blood from me using a knife with my blood and a hand from Wormtail along with the bones from Voldemort's father's grave, he made himself a new body. After that, he touched my scar. He didn't so much as flinch. The protection is gone.
After that he wanted to do a wizards' duel, but our wands connected. The feathers came from Fawkes, so they locked. The parts of the people Voldemort last killed came out of the wand. Cedric asked me to bring back his body. My mum came out. Then my father. Together we managed to get out of there. I dragged Cedric's body back." His voice had dwindled down to a whisper. He finally turned and looked at Fiona's face.
"Do you realize that if I hadn't gone through that tournament that Voldemort wouldn't have a new body? He wouldn't have been able to attack your mother and kill her. Do you realize that?" he asked as he stared into her eyes.
Fiona's face had a look of horror on it. She reached out and touched his cheek. "My mother knew he was coming. It was only a matter of time. We really should stop blaming ourselves for my grandfather's actions. All we can do is stop him. Why didn't you tell me sooner? Is that why you didn't want me to be with you?"
Harry gave a nod. He couldn't speak because he hadn't told her what his fear was: it was losing her. He couldn't stand that thought. He had lost everything he had to Voldemort. He couldn't lose her. She stroked his cheek gently, reassuring him of her presence. "Even if there was any other way, Harry, I would still rather be with you."
"I want to be with you," whispered Harry.
"Well, you're right. This must be a suicide pact. We'll go down together, if need be," she said, remembering what he had said back at Avalon. Is this what love is? I'm not sure. All I know is that I want to be with him. I really want to be with him, she thought.
"Let's go on. Who knows who's watching us," said Harry, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He put his arm around her as they walked forward in a comforting silence. For the first time, Harry didn't feel like he was alone in his troubles. There was someone at his side. Someone he wanted to live for. Someone he would be willing to die for.
He had no idea that someone was watching them, preparing a trap to pull them apart.
*
Voldemort's eyes settled upon the young pair as they trudged through his forest. He could have used his magic at anytime to cause more attacking vines, but the plants were unwilling. Voldemort could practically see the Avalonian magic emitting from Fiona. The forest wasn't willing to attack her. Harry Potter carried Excalibur, proclaiming for the world that he possessed powerful earth magic. The vines had released Fiona when it felt her power.
"Father, you aren't going to separate those two, are you?" asked Thalia as she hovered next to him, looking through his looking glass.
"Why don't you go and help them and leave me alone?" he demanded, wanting so much to rid himself of her company.
"Why would I do that? From here, I can see everything, Father," replied Thalia with a smile.
"You are a nuisance," muttered Voldemort. "I would like to meet with my granddaughter privately."
"You don't have the right to call her that. Meeting her will be your undoing," whispered Thalia.
"I think not. Between her and the boy, there is more than enough power," hissed Voldemort. "The child is deathly afraid of snakes and the boy is afraid of losing her. Such foolish weaknesses. Something I am not surprised by considering their pedigrees."
Thalia didn't say anything about Voldemort's last statement. If Fiona had any flaws, he was the one to blame. Her father had a weakness that made him into the person he was. Only Thalia could see that.
Voldemort didn't say anything to Thalia. Instead he stood up and walked to another passage way. He reached it and called out to something in a dark pit. It had been a while since she had had any fun at all. Perhaps, now was the time to allow her some freedom.
He spoke to her in the tongue of his ancestors and the same one that his descendents were fortunate enough to have. "Nagini," he hissed.
In the dark pit, a pair of eyes gleamed and flickered for a moment. Then, the creature slithered out to carry out her master's bidding.
*
"I think we're getting closer. I can see more of the castle now," said Fiona out loud.
"Looks like it. Let's keep moving. We'll probably have to settled down again for the night somewhere," said Harry as he looked around. The day's walk had been very uneventful, making both of them feel even more uncomfortable.
Then, Harry heard it. He had excellent hearing as a seeker he had trained himself to be able to hear the wings of a Golden Snitch. Something was coming towards them. It was moving along the ground. Harry grabbed his wand.
"What's w—" started Fiona, but something had lunged at her. She let out a terrifying scream as a large python wrapped around her legs. "HARRY!" she screamed.
Harry pointed his wand and allowed a few sparks to fly out of it, but it wasn't enough. He recognized the snake. It was Nagini, Voldemort's pet. He noticed that Fiona wasn't fighting back. She was frozen with fear. Her eyes were opened in terror, even more so than when the vines had attacked her. She was breathing heavily, unable to take her eyes off the snake's head. She looked close to tears.
"Fiona! Talk to it!" shouted Harry. He didn't want to use his wand or the sword. He didn't want her to get hurt. "Use your Parseltongue. Ask her to let you go!"
"H-her?" stammered Fiona. "It's a her?!"
"It's Voldemort's snake. Just ask her to let you go!" shouted Harry. He launched into Parsel Tongue, "Let her go."
Nagini shook her head. Fiona could hear her reply, "Nay, my master has given his orders. She belongs with him."
"Let me go!" cried Fiona, feeling like her heart was going to stop at any moment. She could hear her own voice. It wasn't English at all. The snake glared at her with its ferocious yellow eyes. Instead, the great snake wrapped around her, cutting her air supply off. Harry pointed his wand at the snake. It was better that Fiona get hurt just a little bit, than killed by strangulation.
Another attack came in the form of Dementors who came at them, and Harry shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"
The Dementors pulled back when the white stag charged at them. Harry felt the sweat pouring down the side of his face. He ran to where Fiona was. Nagini had cut off her oxygen until she passed out. Harry grabbed her hand as Nagini glared at him. It was a very stupid thing for him to do she told him as she attacked him.
Harry wasn't fast enough as he pulled back, he felt a tingling sensation in his arm. He could feel the venom seeping into his veins. His vision blurred. He reached out for Fiona's hand, but Nagini was dragging her away from him. His strength was draining out of him as he watched her pull away. Nagini was moving too fast.
Harry fell on the ground hard. He didn't have any strength to go after them. The venom was running in his veins. He closed his eyes. He had lost Fiona.
AN: This part ends on a cliffhanger. Ooh. What happens next? Some nasty mind games are coming up. Look forward to the next part. Voldemort's a sick bastard.
For more information, please refer to my online journal at http://remyelf.livejournal.com. I am please to say that I have a teaser chapter for the next fic that I might do called, Lily in Full Blossom. Unless, you really don't want to get annoyed with me, I suggest you read the teaser after Unraveled is completed. ^^
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and a bunch of people have rights to it. I don't make any money of if this.