Seamus and Calliope walked into the compound. Calliope's mouth was set in a
grim line, and the only thing that gave away her fear was the almost sub-
conscious wringing of her hands. Seamus swaggered in jauntily, grinning.
Calliope gasped at her first view of Voldemort, but Seamus said nothing,
walking towards his throne, and getting down on one knee. "Master, I
beseech you, forgive me for abandoning you months ago. I have brought you a
faerie, in hopes that it will start me on the path back into your favours."
"Foolish boy." Voldemort hissed. "Where is it?"
"Where is what, sir?"
"The faerie you fool!"
Seamus stood. "Calliope!" Calliope came towards him, trembling with anger.
"Sheta homas calirana Finnegan?" She asked in the faeries language. "What have you got me into?"
"Relax." Seamus said, grinning, also in the fairies tongue. "Don't worry." Then, in English, "She is already blackening sir. She will become a Dementor within weeks."
"I do not want a Dementor Finnegan! I want to know where the faeries live!"
"And you will master. Please, be patient. Rest, and the faerie and I will lead you to their refuge."
Voldemorts eyes narrowed. "How do I know you will be truthful?"
Seamus leaned forward and propped his head up in his hand. "Master, trust me on this and by the time you wake this evening, you will have Harry Potter before you."
Voldemorts nostrils flared and he relented. 'Very well Finnegan. But if I have no Potter before me when I wake up, it will be your life." And then he got up and strode out of the hall.
Calliope watched as Seamus gathered all the death-eaters together, then she sang some song, and they drifted into a sleep. Seamus bound them all together where they lay, and went to get Misha and Harry.
"Misha, I want you to Apparate with them back to the Defense department."
"Perhaps I should stay?"
"No, you should go. I don't want to risk these guys getting loose. Harry, you need to stay here, Calliope, could you maybe-"
"Already done." Calliope said smiling at Seamus and slipping her immunity over Harry's head.
Harry and Misha watched with amused smiles as something passed between Calliope and Seamus. Seamus obviously noticed, as he added hastily, "Thanks, and if you wouldn't mind getting in the way of my wand while you aren't wearing that thing..."
Misha and Seamus exchanged quick words in Russian, then Misha and twenty death-eaters disappeared into thin air.
"Voldemort will be waking from his long winters nap in about an hour." Seamus said needlessly. They sat in an uneasy silence for a while. "Yep." Seamus said.
"Yep." Calliope replied, grinning.
"Yep." Harry said.
"Uh-huh." Seamus said.
"Yeh." They went on like that for fifteen minutes, none of them knowing what to say and none of them wanting to hear the sounds of silence when they stopped speaking. "I had a cat once." Seamus said suddenly. "When I was ten years old. Its name was Blackjack, cos it was all black, see. I had the biggest crush on this girl. Her name was Seanna. She was eleven and a half, and I swear to god, I was in love with that girl. She had these two big dogs, see? And my da' went out to the farm where she lived, and my cat was in his lorry. Well, the cat got out, and this girls dogs just mauled the bloody thing. I cried for a week. I was in love with that girl and her dogs mauled my cat." He shook his head sadly.
"I had a unicorn." Calliope said. "It's name was One, because uni is latin for one. It was the most beautiful unicorn in the world."
"What happened to it?" Harry asked, propping his head up on his elbow and looking at her.
"Seamus set it loose in the Dark forest." Calliope said, glaring at Seamus fondly. The past afternoon seemed to have done much to bury the hatchet between the two.
"It needed to be free." Seamus said.
"Why did you do it?" Hermione asked.
"Because I wanted the fair and talented Calliope of Clearwater to notice me. She did, for about twenty seconds, which was how long it took her to slap me seventeen times."
Hermione looked at Seamus with raised eyebrows. "Seamus Finnegan is capable of feeling human emotions?"
"Go to hell." Seamus said comfortably. Suddenly he jumped to his feet. "Master," He said in a slithery, cold voice. "I have brought you Harry Potter."
Harry screamed with rage and pain as Voldemort entered the room, side by side with Lucius Malfoy. "Where are the others Finnegan?"
"They left, sire. They have abandoned you, but there is still me, and Master Malfoy."
"Yes, of course." Voldemort smiled slowly and coldly. "And Potter."
Without warning, Seamus drew his wand and disarmed Voldemort. He wheeled on Lucius Malfoy, attacking him violently with his fists and his wand
Voldemort shrieked madly, helpless and frail without his wand and minions. Harry turned on him and drew his wand, then realised suddenly he had no idea what to do. He stunned Voldemort, and he fell to the ground. Luicus Malfoy attacked Seamus with the Cruciatus curse, again and again, and Calliope flung herself at him, attacking from behind. He fell and his face broke on the cobbled floor. Seamus sat up, panting. "Are you alright?" Calliope asked, looking at the blood pouring from his cheek. "Hurts like a bitch." Seamus replied cheerfully. "Mobili Corpus." Voldemorts stunned body lifted itself off the floor and made its way towards the door.
"Is Malfoy dead?" Hermione asked. Seamus turned to look at him, Harry pulled Calliope's chain from around his neck and handed it back to her and in the split second, as the white-gold chain caught the light, and Seamus's spell lost it's power, Voldemort came to. Harry dropped the chain, and it hovered in the air for what seemed like, hours, but was really only seconds. It took only seconds for Voldemort to regain his senses and scream the fatal words "Avada Kedavra!"
The curse hit Calliope and she fell, her body striking the ground, the chain falling moments later. With a yell of anguish, Seamus wheeled away from Malfoy's body and ran at Voldemort. He knocked him to the ground and beat him savagely with his fists. By the time Hermione and Harry had pulled him away Voldemorts waxy face was covered in blood and he was unconscious. "Seamus, he needs to be alive when we get him back to Hogwarts." Hermione said gently.
Seamus wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth, then wiped the blood on his hands on his robes. Harry had the sickening awareness that it wasn't Seamus' blood. He kicked Voldemort savagely in the side one last time, then turned and walked away. He took the chain from Calliope's hand and placed it around his own neck, then looked down at her body on the ground. "Do something about this mess." He said, not directing it at anyone in particular and walked out of the compound.
Harry and Hermione looked at each other. "What now?"
"I suppose we should take them back to the faerie woods." Harry said, not really knowing what they should do.
"We can't carry three bodies Harry." Hermione said honestly. Harry looked around and rubbed the back of his neck. "I unno."
Hermione sighed. "I guess we wait?"
"I guess so." They stood there in silence for several minutes.
"What are we waiting for?" Harry asked.
Hermione shrugged. "Someone else?"
They stood there for a minute in silence, then looked up as Seamus re- entered. "I knew I couldn't trust you guys to clean this up."
"Foolish boy." Voldemort hissed. "Where is it?"
"Where is what, sir?"
"The faerie you fool!"
Seamus stood. "Calliope!" Calliope came towards him, trembling with anger.
"Sheta homas calirana Finnegan?" She asked in the faeries language. "What have you got me into?"
"Relax." Seamus said, grinning, also in the fairies tongue. "Don't worry." Then, in English, "She is already blackening sir. She will become a Dementor within weeks."
"I do not want a Dementor Finnegan! I want to know where the faeries live!"
"And you will master. Please, be patient. Rest, and the faerie and I will lead you to their refuge."
Voldemorts eyes narrowed. "How do I know you will be truthful?"
Seamus leaned forward and propped his head up in his hand. "Master, trust me on this and by the time you wake this evening, you will have Harry Potter before you."
Voldemorts nostrils flared and he relented. 'Very well Finnegan. But if I have no Potter before me when I wake up, it will be your life." And then he got up and strode out of the hall.
Calliope watched as Seamus gathered all the death-eaters together, then she sang some song, and they drifted into a sleep. Seamus bound them all together where they lay, and went to get Misha and Harry.
"Misha, I want you to Apparate with them back to the Defense department."
"Perhaps I should stay?"
"No, you should go. I don't want to risk these guys getting loose. Harry, you need to stay here, Calliope, could you maybe-"
"Already done." Calliope said smiling at Seamus and slipping her immunity over Harry's head.
Harry and Misha watched with amused smiles as something passed between Calliope and Seamus. Seamus obviously noticed, as he added hastily, "Thanks, and if you wouldn't mind getting in the way of my wand while you aren't wearing that thing..."
Misha and Seamus exchanged quick words in Russian, then Misha and twenty death-eaters disappeared into thin air.
"Voldemort will be waking from his long winters nap in about an hour." Seamus said needlessly. They sat in an uneasy silence for a while. "Yep." Seamus said.
"Yep." Calliope replied, grinning.
"Yep." Harry said.
"Uh-huh." Seamus said.
"Yeh." They went on like that for fifteen minutes, none of them knowing what to say and none of them wanting to hear the sounds of silence when they stopped speaking. "I had a cat once." Seamus said suddenly. "When I was ten years old. Its name was Blackjack, cos it was all black, see. I had the biggest crush on this girl. Her name was Seanna. She was eleven and a half, and I swear to god, I was in love with that girl. She had these two big dogs, see? And my da' went out to the farm where she lived, and my cat was in his lorry. Well, the cat got out, and this girls dogs just mauled the bloody thing. I cried for a week. I was in love with that girl and her dogs mauled my cat." He shook his head sadly.
"I had a unicorn." Calliope said. "It's name was One, because uni is latin for one. It was the most beautiful unicorn in the world."
"What happened to it?" Harry asked, propping his head up on his elbow and looking at her.
"Seamus set it loose in the Dark forest." Calliope said, glaring at Seamus fondly. The past afternoon seemed to have done much to bury the hatchet between the two.
"It needed to be free." Seamus said.
"Why did you do it?" Hermione asked.
"Because I wanted the fair and talented Calliope of Clearwater to notice me. She did, for about twenty seconds, which was how long it took her to slap me seventeen times."
Hermione looked at Seamus with raised eyebrows. "Seamus Finnegan is capable of feeling human emotions?"
"Go to hell." Seamus said comfortably. Suddenly he jumped to his feet. "Master," He said in a slithery, cold voice. "I have brought you Harry Potter."
Harry screamed with rage and pain as Voldemort entered the room, side by side with Lucius Malfoy. "Where are the others Finnegan?"
"They left, sire. They have abandoned you, but there is still me, and Master Malfoy."
"Yes, of course." Voldemort smiled slowly and coldly. "And Potter."
Without warning, Seamus drew his wand and disarmed Voldemort. He wheeled on Lucius Malfoy, attacking him violently with his fists and his wand
Voldemort shrieked madly, helpless and frail without his wand and minions. Harry turned on him and drew his wand, then realised suddenly he had no idea what to do. He stunned Voldemort, and he fell to the ground. Luicus Malfoy attacked Seamus with the Cruciatus curse, again and again, and Calliope flung herself at him, attacking from behind. He fell and his face broke on the cobbled floor. Seamus sat up, panting. "Are you alright?" Calliope asked, looking at the blood pouring from his cheek. "Hurts like a bitch." Seamus replied cheerfully. "Mobili Corpus." Voldemorts stunned body lifted itself off the floor and made its way towards the door.
"Is Malfoy dead?" Hermione asked. Seamus turned to look at him, Harry pulled Calliope's chain from around his neck and handed it back to her and in the split second, as the white-gold chain caught the light, and Seamus's spell lost it's power, Voldemort came to. Harry dropped the chain, and it hovered in the air for what seemed like, hours, but was really only seconds. It took only seconds for Voldemort to regain his senses and scream the fatal words "Avada Kedavra!"
The curse hit Calliope and she fell, her body striking the ground, the chain falling moments later. With a yell of anguish, Seamus wheeled away from Malfoy's body and ran at Voldemort. He knocked him to the ground and beat him savagely with his fists. By the time Hermione and Harry had pulled him away Voldemorts waxy face was covered in blood and he was unconscious. "Seamus, he needs to be alive when we get him back to Hogwarts." Hermione said gently.
Seamus wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth, then wiped the blood on his hands on his robes. Harry had the sickening awareness that it wasn't Seamus' blood. He kicked Voldemort savagely in the side one last time, then turned and walked away. He took the chain from Calliope's hand and placed it around his own neck, then looked down at her body on the ground. "Do something about this mess." He said, not directing it at anyone in particular and walked out of the compound.
Harry and Hermione looked at each other. "What now?"
"I suppose we should take them back to the faerie woods." Harry said, not really knowing what they should do.
"We can't carry three bodies Harry." Hermione said honestly. Harry looked around and rubbed the back of his neck. "I unno."
Hermione sighed. "I guess we wait?"
"I guess so." They stood there in silence for several minutes.
"What are we waiting for?" Harry asked.
Hermione shrugged. "Someone else?"
They stood there for a minute in silence, then looked up as Seamus re- entered. "I knew I couldn't trust you guys to clean this up."