Chapter 11: Smile, and be a Villain
"Satchel! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sean yelled angrily. Sirius looked up
at the sound of his voice with a mixed expression of surprise and relief. "That's Sirius
you moron!" Sean yelled.
"I know." Satchel replied calmly, not moving a muscle. The wand remained where it was
and Harry found he could not take his eyes from it.
"Hello, maybe you've forgotten but we're supposed to be rescuing him, not killing him,"
Sean's voice dripped with sarcasm that belied his fear.
"Yes, so you are. But I am on a rather different mission," Satchel replied in his scratchy
voice. Harry felt his mouth go dry and forced his eyes off of the wand to look at Sean.
The smuggler was standing there, watching his partner carefully, his face a mask of
control. "And what might that be?" he asked carefully.
Satchel made a noise similar to a sigh. " You alread know what it is or have you forgotten
what I told you at our first meeting in Tangier? Vampire's have no place in this world.
They are looked down upon, banished, used and forbidden to use the one spell they
have the power to use." He eyed Sirius with a hunger and licked hist stiff lips.
"No!" Hermioned gasped. "No! He can't!"
Satchel moved the wwand slowly but Sean's voice stopped him. "Wait! What are you
talking about? 'Vampires have no place in this world,'" Sean mocked, "What a bunch of
bull shit. YOU have a place in this world. Our smuggling organization. Have you forgotten
how much of a help you've been with that?" Harry detected a note of desperation in his
voice.
"Hmpf. And tell me exactly how much of a smuggling organization you would have left if
your buyers knew a vampire wwas involved. No, I've found a much better place for my
talents. And there remains only one obstacle in my way to reaching it." He turned back
to Sirius who was rapidly mouthing something at Harry.
The freeze that had been on Harry's brain since entering the room finally melted and he
reached down for his wand only to find it gone. "My wand!," he cried and at that
moment, the wind picked up, blowing and roaring in their ears. "Don't worry!," Sean
shouted over the din and next thing Harry heard was a spell being shouted not once but
twice: AVADA KEDARVA!
Two flashes of green light burst forth and Harry instinctivel fell to the ground,taking all
those near him down with him, the wind stormiing around them. Then, as suddenly as it
had picked up, it stopped and a strange silence filled the room that was as strong as the
darkness: everyone of their wands had gone out.
Cautiously, and not at all sure if he was still alive, Harry lifted up his head and saw the
scene around him. A large gash was now in the wall where Sirius had been pinned and
stone lay randomly tossed around the room. One had hit Ron in the head and he sat up,
dazed and fingering the blood on his forehead. Other member of the team suffered cuts
and bruises and Ginny a twisted ankle but they were not the worst of the wounded.
Harry gained his feet quickly and ran over to the wall where two figured lay slumped on
top of each other in front of the gash. He pushed the first one, Satchel, off and reached
for Sirius. "Sirius! Sirius!" He moved his face around desperately. "Don't be dead- no you
can't be dead- please don't be dead." He breathed hysterically and tried to make him
move until two strong arms pulled the skinny fifteen year old back. Harry tried to fight
but he knew it was no good.
"Stop it, Harry," Harry commanded him and dragged him away from the corpses.
"You!" Harry wrenched himself out of his arms and regarded the murderer. "You killed
him! You killed him!"
"No," Sean said softly, looking at Harry. "I didn't. He was already dead."
"But you said the-- the killing curse! You used it," his voice reached an hysterical pitch
again but Harry had no will to control it. "You know it's forbidden." Now Sean's gaze
turned cold. "I'm not exactly the one you should be talking about 'forbidden' to. I've
never given it much consideration." He paused then continued. "It had to be done, Harry,
I couldn't just let Satchel kill Sirius and then hope the Wizarding police comes along to
take him away before he kills the rest of us, too." He jabbed a finger at Harry's chest.
"Can you imagine how big of a geather it would be in his hat to have killed not only Sirius
Black but Harry Potter too?"
Harrrry swallowed. "But Sirius! Why did he have to--" But Sean broke him off. "Don't ask
questions whose answer you don't want to hear. It was all of Voldemort's plan, I'm sure,
and I'm afraid he didn't come with his canoe either."
George finally spoke up from where he and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix had
remained huddled. "You mean this was all just a ruse? A ruse so that Satchel could kill
Sirius? Why go to all that work?"
Sean shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm not the one to answer that question. The only
question I really want an answer to is how I could trust someone so foolishly and so full."
He walked over to Satchel's corpse and kicked it, then picked up a wanted that lay on the
ground by him. "The bastard stole my wand, too," he said to himself and then threw a
wand at Harry. "Here, sorry, but I had to borrow it." Harry caught it but said nothing.
Sean wasn't finished yet either. He waved his wand in the air in front of him and
conjured up a shiny wooden stake. Taking hold o it with his hands, he forefully drove it
into Satchel's chest and the sound of cracking bone fell on Harry's ears. Then, Satchel's
body slowly turned to dust and blew away in the wwind with a screetch, leaving nothing
but the eight of them to stare at the ground where he had once lay.
Slowly, they began to pick themselves up and get ready for the journewd back to
the mainland. Being a prison, it only made sense for no one to be able to apparate or
disapparate on the island. This naturally lead to some problems as Sean could not
disapparate and fetch someone and anyone wanting to come and check up on them, like
Dumbledore, for instance, would be likewise unable to get there. They would have to
either row back to the shore or catch a ride in Sean's car.
First and foremost of their worries were their medical conditions and this naturally
provided Hermione with another opportunity to show off her magical skills. This is not to
sa the Weasley Twins weren't proficient healers: years of blowing things up and
endangering their lives as well as the lives of the rest of their family and any small
animals in the immediate vicinity made them expert field meds. The British Army would
have loved to get their hands on them.
And so, Ginny's twisted ankle was bandaged, Ron's forehead mended and various
other not-as-serious wounds delt with.
Harry and Sean concerned themselves with the transportation of Sirius' body.
Sean was prepared to deal with it himself but Harry insisted on helping himself. Partly, it
was to convince himself that he was really dead. It was like seeing Cedric dead again: it
seemed more like he had just drifted into a deep sleep: the Avada Kedarva curse left no
bodily marking. The only marks to be seen on Sirius's body were cuts and bruises from
the falling stone. 'But,' Harry reminded himself, 'it wasn't falling stone that killed him.'
They conjured up a stretchur and Sean floated Sirius onto it then continued to
float it through the corridors of Azkaban until they reached the beach, the rest of them
following like a silent funeral train. There, they noticed, the Sun was setting, turning the
world from lightness to various shades of gray. The water lapped the shore softly as well
as the Green Flame. It sat there still, as magnificient as ever with the beautiful Phoenix
soaring on ist side.
"Satchel! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sean yelled angrily. Sirius looked up
at the sound of his voice with a mixed expression of surprise and relief. "That's Sirius
you moron!" Sean yelled.
"I know." Satchel replied calmly, not moving a muscle. The wand remained where it was
and Harry found he could not take his eyes from it.
"Hello, maybe you've forgotten but we're supposed to be rescuing him, not killing him,"
Sean's voice dripped with sarcasm that belied his fear.
"Yes, so you are. But I am on a rather different mission," Satchel replied in his scratchy
voice. Harry felt his mouth go dry and forced his eyes off of the wand to look at Sean.
The smuggler was standing there, watching his partner carefully, his face a mask of
control. "And what might that be?" he asked carefully.
Satchel made a noise similar to a sigh. " You alread know what it is or have you forgotten
what I told you at our first meeting in Tangier? Vampire's have no place in this world.
They are looked down upon, banished, used and forbidden to use the one spell they
have the power to use." He eyed Sirius with a hunger and licked hist stiff lips.
"No!" Hermioned gasped. "No! He can't!"
Satchel moved the wwand slowly but Sean's voice stopped him. "Wait! What are you
talking about? 'Vampires have no place in this world,'" Sean mocked, "What a bunch of
bull shit. YOU have a place in this world. Our smuggling organization. Have you forgotten
how much of a help you've been with that?" Harry detected a note of desperation in his
voice.
"Hmpf. And tell me exactly how much of a smuggling organization you would have left if
your buyers knew a vampire wwas involved. No, I've found a much better place for my
talents. And there remains only one obstacle in my way to reaching it." He turned back
to Sirius who was rapidly mouthing something at Harry.
The freeze that had been on Harry's brain since entering the room finally melted and he
reached down for his wand only to find it gone. "My wand!," he cried and at that
moment, the wind picked up, blowing and roaring in their ears. "Don't worry!," Sean
shouted over the din and next thing Harry heard was a spell being shouted not once but
twice: AVADA KEDARVA!
Two flashes of green light burst forth and Harry instinctivel fell to the ground,taking all
those near him down with him, the wind stormiing around them. Then, as suddenly as it
had picked up, it stopped and a strange silence filled the room that was as strong as the
darkness: everyone of their wands had gone out.
Cautiously, and not at all sure if he was still alive, Harry lifted up his head and saw the
scene around him. A large gash was now in the wall where Sirius had been pinned and
stone lay randomly tossed around the room. One had hit Ron in the head and he sat up,
dazed and fingering the blood on his forehead. Other member of the team suffered cuts
and bruises and Ginny a twisted ankle but they were not the worst of the wounded.
Harry gained his feet quickly and ran over to the wall where two figured lay slumped on
top of each other in front of the gash. He pushed the first one, Satchel, off and reached
for Sirius. "Sirius! Sirius!" He moved his face around desperately. "Don't be dead- no you
can't be dead- please don't be dead." He breathed hysterically and tried to make him
move until two strong arms pulled the skinny fifteen year old back. Harry tried to fight
but he knew it was no good.
"Stop it, Harry," Harry commanded him and dragged him away from the corpses.
"You!" Harry wrenched himself out of his arms and regarded the murderer. "You killed
him! You killed him!"
"No," Sean said softly, looking at Harry. "I didn't. He was already dead."
"But you said the-- the killing curse! You used it," his voice reached an hysterical pitch
again but Harry had no will to control it. "You know it's forbidden." Now Sean's gaze
turned cold. "I'm not exactly the one you should be talking about 'forbidden' to. I've
never given it much consideration." He paused then continued. "It had to be done, Harry,
I couldn't just let Satchel kill Sirius and then hope the Wizarding police comes along to
take him away before he kills the rest of us, too." He jabbed a finger at Harry's chest.
"Can you imagine how big of a geather it would be in his hat to have killed not only Sirius
Black but Harry Potter too?"
Harrrry swallowed. "But Sirius! Why did he have to--" But Sean broke him off. "Don't ask
questions whose answer you don't want to hear. It was all of Voldemort's plan, I'm sure,
and I'm afraid he didn't come with his canoe either."
George finally spoke up from where he and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix had
remained huddled. "You mean this was all just a ruse? A ruse so that Satchel could kill
Sirius? Why go to all that work?"
Sean shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm not the one to answer that question. The only
question I really want an answer to is how I could trust someone so foolishly and so full."
He walked over to Satchel's corpse and kicked it, then picked up a wanted that lay on the
ground by him. "The bastard stole my wand, too," he said to himself and then threw a
wand at Harry. "Here, sorry, but I had to borrow it." Harry caught it but said nothing.
Sean wasn't finished yet either. He waved his wand in the air in front of him and
conjured up a shiny wooden stake. Taking hold o it with his hands, he forefully drove it
into Satchel's chest and the sound of cracking bone fell on Harry's ears. Then, Satchel's
body slowly turned to dust and blew away in the wwind with a screetch, leaving nothing
but the eight of them to stare at the ground where he had once lay.
Slowly, they began to pick themselves up and get ready for the journewd back to
the mainland. Being a prison, it only made sense for no one to be able to apparate or
disapparate on the island. This naturally lead to some problems as Sean could not
disapparate and fetch someone and anyone wanting to come and check up on them, like
Dumbledore, for instance, would be likewise unable to get there. They would have to
either row back to the shore or catch a ride in Sean's car.
First and foremost of their worries were their medical conditions and this naturally
provided Hermione with another opportunity to show off her magical skills. This is not to
sa the Weasley Twins weren't proficient healers: years of blowing things up and
endangering their lives as well as the lives of the rest of their family and any small
animals in the immediate vicinity made them expert field meds. The British Army would
have loved to get their hands on them.
And so, Ginny's twisted ankle was bandaged, Ron's forehead mended and various
other not-as-serious wounds delt with.
Harry and Sean concerned themselves with the transportation of Sirius' body.
Sean was prepared to deal with it himself but Harry insisted on helping himself. Partly, it
was to convince himself that he was really dead. It was like seeing Cedric dead again: it
seemed more like he had just drifted into a deep sleep: the Avada Kedarva curse left no
bodily marking. The only marks to be seen on Sirius's body were cuts and bruises from
the falling stone. 'But,' Harry reminded himself, 'it wasn't falling stone that killed him.'
They conjured up a stretchur and Sean floated Sirius onto it then continued to
float it through the corridors of Azkaban until they reached the beach, the rest of them
following like a silent funeral train. There, they noticed, the Sun was setting, turning the
world from lightness to various shades of gray. The water lapped the shore softly as well
as the Green Flame. It sat there still, as magnificient as ever with the beautiful Phoenix
soaring on ist side.