Without - Chapter 3
E-mail: Cool6848@cs.com
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Sirius startled several students as he swung open the large oak doors of Hogwarts, and rushed by them all without a word. He sped down the halls of Hogwarts, turning sharp corners, passing students, ghosts, teachers, suits of armor, and an assortment on paintings. All the while he knew where his destination was; Dumbledore's office. When Sirius entered he paid no notice the old wizard who was sitting behind his desk, nor to the mischievous blue eyes that were now following his every move. Sirius walked strait up to a large portrait of an eagle and swung it open, only to reveal a brick wall. Sirius then tapped a brick that had an indent in it and mumbled a few incoherent words. Magically, an opening appeared in the shape of an arched doorway. Beyond that doorway was a large room; a replica of the Gryffindoor common room, only this one had bookshelves, and one set of stairs leading to a single door. Sirius rushed into the room and up the stairs and opened the door without a single knock. (By now Dumbledore was hot on his trail.)
"Harry! Were you in her house last night?!" Sirius yelled angrily to a young man sleeping lazily under a huge lump of sheets. The man jerked awake suddenly and scrambled out of bed. His mangled raven hair hung down in his face and his green eyes shone with worry behind the same type of glasses he had always worn. He had a strong build, with broad shoulders, and was rather tall, at six one.
"Wha? What, what's wrong?!"
"I said... were you in her house last night?" Sirius spoke more quietly now, but the anger was still apparent in his voice.
"Who's her?" The man asked trying to play dumb.
"Don't play dumb with me Harry! You damn well know..."
"Now, now Sirius, calm down. There's no need to yell at the boy." Dumbledore reasoned.
Sirius sighed and looked Harry in the eye.
"Were you at Hermione's house last night?"
Harry hesitated a moment and nodded solemnly, looking downward. At his reply Sirius sighed again and leaned against the tall bed post of Harry's bed.
"Harry, I thought we talked about this, you can't be seen." Sirius finally spoke.
"I know... it's just, I needed to see her. It's been so long, and it's so hard living like this , without her." Harry said sadly. It had been a little over a year now, Harry thought, since he had to go into hiding, away from anyone, away from it all. He didn't 'have' to go, not if he wanted the entire world to be in ashes and have the ones dearest to him suffer.
"I understand that Harry, but you can't just do that. Without telling us. Well, you shouldn't do that at all." Sirius said.
"Now Sirius I agree that Harry should have told one of us, but we can't keep him in hiding forever, what kind of life would that be?" With no response from either of the two, he continued. "See, it wouldn't be a life."
"If only... I can find a way, a way to be able to go out in the world some how, or just be able to be with Hermione and Ron again. If I do find a way, would you both let me?" Harry asked determinedly, he just couldn't stay away anymore. It had been too long.
"Harry if you did find a way... could we stop you?" Dumbledore smiled as his eyes twinkled.
"No, probably not."
"That's me boy." Sirius said patting Harry on the back. "You're just like your dad was, when he wanted something, or some one," Sirius winked, "he would do anything to get it, and no one could stop him. But, never, and I repeat 'never' do that again without telling us. We didn't know what happened to you yesterday. You were just gone."
"All right, all right, I'm sorry, it won't happen again." Harry spoke like he had said that many times before.
"Well, not that that's settled, I suggest you get ready Harry, there's work to be done." Dumbledore said as he left the room.
"She really misses you Harry."
"Yea, well, I'm dead to her. But did she tell you that?"
"No, but I can see it, she's just not herself without you." With that, Sirius left, leaving Harry alone, standing in the middle of his room, thinking about how he was going to find a way to get to Hermione, to be able to talk to her again.
This was going to take a while.
Harry made his way down the dark, dim dungeons hallway, the walls lined with blazing torches. He had gotten used to the sickening smell of the dungeons by now, but every now and then the smell would get to him and he's have to bury his face within his shirt to block the smell. Harry turned a familiar corner and walked down a spiraling set of rot- iron steps. He came to a room with nothing in it at all. Just a low ceiling and gray stone walls. He walked to the center of the room, crouched down to the floor and tapped his wand three times on a stone that had a red marking on it. The stone melted away along with the other stones surrounding it. Below the opening was another set of long spiraling stairs, leading lower and lower beneath the Hogwarts castle. Harry shivered as he felt a draft of air come from below.
He made his way down the stairs and entered a room that didn't look like it belonged there. The floor was covered with a rich hard wood, and the walls were painted a deep burgundy. in the center of the room were long tables each set up to make a "U" shape. Padded chairs lined the table in various places. Harry passed this table and opened a door leading to a long hallway cluttered with hundreds upon hundreds of doors, each with a number, a name, or anything else you could think of.
The Ministry of Magic. The Ministry had always been there, always under their noses. Harry never imagined that the Ministry of Magic could possibly be hidden away, deep under Hogwarts. If he could tell Hermione he was sure that she would have a field day about this, Ron even. People who worked at the Ministry were never to tell any one of it's location, family, friends, nobody. That's why Ron would be as surprised as he was when he found out.
Harry turned the knob of a door that had the number 713 in gold lettering. Inside Sirius, Dumbledore, and a few other formal looking people were waiting for him around a small round table.
"Good afternoon, Harry." Dumledore said. "We have some news from Lincoln."
"Good news, I hope." Harry said hopefully as he sat down even though he new it wasn't good news. Every time Antione Lincoln had news, it wasn't good. Informative, but definitely not good.
"You could say that, but I wouldn't." Antione Lincoln replied with a deep voice. He was a tall, bulky man with long dark brown hair and dark deep- set eyes. Anyone would say that he was the perfect man for his job, a spy. He was one of the very few that actually made contact with the remains of the inner circle of the dark side.
"They've had a break-through, and the numbers of wizards and witches who have stayed loyal, or turned dark are growing. They have reached an all time high and if my sources are correct, with they most likely are, the attack could be any week now."
"That certainly isn't good news. How have we been progressing?" Harry said seriously, his eyes darkening.
"It's been slow work, but we're managing. The team and I have spoke recently, and... well we have made a proposition." The short woman to Sirius' left spoke. Her name was Lucille Belrose. She was head of the Ministry's Charm and Incantation Insight Team.
"And what might that be?" Sirius asked.
"Well..." Lucille hesitated. "Since it has been slow and all, and because of the recent information that was just brought to my attention, we could use a little more help. We hear there is an expert over at Spell Reinforcement, and we could desperately use their help." She spoke quietly.
Harry thought about this, and could see that everyone else was as well. He had heard about the difficulties the group had been having, due to the small number of people they had working on this essential project. They could use some help, maybe he could call help for two people. Even though he knew the risks of exposing even more people to this situation. The Ministry didn't even know of this plan, or that he was even still alive. Every time Harry was in the Ministry and Hogwarts Grounds only, he could be seen by a select few, with the help on the incantation team of course.
"I don't see why not." Harry spoke into the silence.
"Harry, you know or the consequences that could occur if we chose some one untrustworthy." Sirius said seriously.
"Yes, I'm well aware of that but the team is in need, if we don't get all these spells created and mastered, we are not going to be very well off."
"I have to agree with Harry, Sirius, the team could always use some expert help." Dumbledore reasoned.
"I wasn't disagreeing with Harry, I was just forewarning."
"What is this expert's name?" Dumbledore asked.
"I'm not sure, but I think it's Helen or Mary... Mary Graja or something. I'll look into it right away, and inform you immediately." Lucille said.
"Well then, you are all dismissed, except you Harry, I need to have a word with you." Dumledore said. Harry thought he sounded tired. Dumbledore was getting older, it had been noticeable for years now. Harry just didn't know what he was going to do if Dumbledore passed away. He had taught Harry so much, and he was forever grateful.
Once everyone had exited the room Dumbledore sighed and turned towards Harry who was sitting across from him.
"What do you think about this Harry?"
"What... what do you mean?"
Dumbledore smiled and asked again. "I mean, what do you think about the progression of the dark forces?"
"I think... well what I didn't think that they were this far along. How they are moving so fast is beyond me. If only Lincoln could get closer, find out more information."
"Life is full of surprises Harry, you should just be prepared for the worst. What good would it do us if Lincoln was closer to the inner circle? It would only fill us with more dread and doubts. We just have to be prepared." Dumbledore said wisely.
"I guess you're right. We just have to be prepared." Dumbledore was always right, Harry thought. Always wise and logic, but sometimes that man could confuse even the brightest of people. Hermione even... Harry sighed sadly.
"Try to cheer up some Harry, as hard as that may seem. Things won't always stay this way. Well, I best be off, I have a school to attend to." Dumbledore smirked.
"But it's the weekend." Harry added.
"Ah, yes, but I do believe there's a Quidditch match today. Gryffindoor versus Slytherin. Should be an interesting match. Would you like to come?"
"It's Quidditch you're talking about here. Me and Quidditch. Of course I'd like to come!" Harry said cheerily. Even though he was no longer a child, he still acted like one. Not as much as he used to, but it was still rather frequent.
The two wizards left the room, shutting and locking the door, looking forward to watch a great game of Quidditch.
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A/N- So, there it is, chapter 3!! Hope you all liked it! And thanks very much for reviewing, make sure to keep reviewing, too! Your comments mean a lot to me.
E-mail: Cool6848@cs.com
______________________________________________________________________________________
Sirius startled several students as he swung open the large oak doors of Hogwarts, and rushed by them all without a word. He sped down the halls of Hogwarts, turning sharp corners, passing students, ghosts, teachers, suits of armor, and an assortment on paintings. All the while he knew where his destination was; Dumbledore's office. When Sirius entered he paid no notice the old wizard who was sitting behind his desk, nor to the mischievous blue eyes that were now following his every move. Sirius walked strait up to a large portrait of an eagle and swung it open, only to reveal a brick wall. Sirius then tapped a brick that had an indent in it and mumbled a few incoherent words. Magically, an opening appeared in the shape of an arched doorway. Beyond that doorway was a large room; a replica of the Gryffindoor common room, only this one had bookshelves, and one set of stairs leading to a single door. Sirius rushed into the room and up the stairs and opened the door without a single knock. (By now Dumbledore was hot on his trail.)
"Harry! Were you in her house last night?!" Sirius yelled angrily to a young man sleeping lazily under a huge lump of sheets. The man jerked awake suddenly and scrambled out of bed. His mangled raven hair hung down in his face and his green eyes shone with worry behind the same type of glasses he had always worn. He had a strong build, with broad shoulders, and was rather tall, at six one.
"Wha? What, what's wrong?!"
"I said... were you in her house last night?" Sirius spoke more quietly now, but the anger was still apparent in his voice.
"Who's her?" The man asked trying to play dumb.
"Don't play dumb with me Harry! You damn well know..."
"Now, now Sirius, calm down. There's no need to yell at the boy." Dumbledore reasoned.
Sirius sighed and looked Harry in the eye.
"Were you at Hermione's house last night?"
Harry hesitated a moment and nodded solemnly, looking downward. At his reply Sirius sighed again and leaned against the tall bed post of Harry's bed.
"Harry, I thought we talked about this, you can't be seen." Sirius finally spoke.
"I know... it's just, I needed to see her. It's been so long, and it's so hard living like this , without her." Harry said sadly. It had been a little over a year now, Harry thought, since he had to go into hiding, away from anyone, away from it all. He didn't 'have' to go, not if he wanted the entire world to be in ashes and have the ones dearest to him suffer.
"I understand that Harry, but you can't just do that. Without telling us. Well, you shouldn't do that at all." Sirius said.
"Now Sirius I agree that Harry should have told one of us, but we can't keep him in hiding forever, what kind of life would that be?" With no response from either of the two, he continued. "See, it wouldn't be a life."
"If only... I can find a way, a way to be able to go out in the world some how, or just be able to be with Hermione and Ron again. If I do find a way, would you both let me?" Harry asked determinedly, he just couldn't stay away anymore. It had been too long.
"Harry if you did find a way... could we stop you?" Dumbledore smiled as his eyes twinkled.
"No, probably not."
"That's me boy." Sirius said patting Harry on the back. "You're just like your dad was, when he wanted something, or some one," Sirius winked, "he would do anything to get it, and no one could stop him. But, never, and I repeat 'never' do that again without telling us. We didn't know what happened to you yesterday. You were just gone."
"All right, all right, I'm sorry, it won't happen again." Harry spoke like he had said that many times before.
"Well, not that that's settled, I suggest you get ready Harry, there's work to be done." Dumbledore said as he left the room.
"She really misses you Harry."
"Yea, well, I'm dead to her. But did she tell you that?"
"No, but I can see it, she's just not herself without you." With that, Sirius left, leaving Harry alone, standing in the middle of his room, thinking about how he was going to find a way to get to Hermione, to be able to talk to her again.
This was going to take a while.
Harry made his way down the dark, dim dungeons hallway, the walls lined with blazing torches. He had gotten used to the sickening smell of the dungeons by now, but every now and then the smell would get to him and he's have to bury his face within his shirt to block the smell. Harry turned a familiar corner and walked down a spiraling set of rot- iron steps. He came to a room with nothing in it at all. Just a low ceiling and gray stone walls. He walked to the center of the room, crouched down to the floor and tapped his wand three times on a stone that had a red marking on it. The stone melted away along with the other stones surrounding it. Below the opening was another set of long spiraling stairs, leading lower and lower beneath the Hogwarts castle. Harry shivered as he felt a draft of air come from below.
He made his way down the stairs and entered a room that didn't look like it belonged there. The floor was covered with a rich hard wood, and the walls were painted a deep burgundy. in the center of the room were long tables each set up to make a "U" shape. Padded chairs lined the table in various places. Harry passed this table and opened a door leading to a long hallway cluttered with hundreds upon hundreds of doors, each with a number, a name, or anything else you could think of.
The Ministry of Magic. The Ministry had always been there, always under their noses. Harry never imagined that the Ministry of Magic could possibly be hidden away, deep under Hogwarts. If he could tell Hermione he was sure that she would have a field day about this, Ron even. People who worked at the Ministry were never to tell any one of it's location, family, friends, nobody. That's why Ron would be as surprised as he was when he found out.
Harry turned the knob of a door that had the number 713 in gold lettering. Inside Sirius, Dumbledore, and a few other formal looking people were waiting for him around a small round table.
"Good afternoon, Harry." Dumledore said. "We have some news from Lincoln."
"Good news, I hope." Harry said hopefully as he sat down even though he new it wasn't good news. Every time Antione Lincoln had news, it wasn't good. Informative, but definitely not good.
"You could say that, but I wouldn't." Antione Lincoln replied with a deep voice. He was a tall, bulky man with long dark brown hair and dark deep- set eyes. Anyone would say that he was the perfect man for his job, a spy. He was one of the very few that actually made contact with the remains of the inner circle of the dark side.
"They've had a break-through, and the numbers of wizards and witches who have stayed loyal, or turned dark are growing. They have reached an all time high and if my sources are correct, with they most likely are, the attack could be any week now."
"That certainly isn't good news. How have we been progressing?" Harry said seriously, his eyes darkening.
"It's been slow work, but we're managing. The team and I have spoke recently, and... well we have made a proposition." The short woman to Sirius' left spoke. Her name was Lucille Belrose. She was head of the Ministry's Charm and Incantation Insight Team.
"And what might that be?" Sirius asked.
"Well..." Lucille hesitated. "Since it has been slow and all, and because of the recent information that was just brought to my attention, we could use a little more help. We hear there is an expert over at Spell Reinforcement, and we could desperately use their help." She spoke quietly.
Harry thought about this, and could see that everyone else was as well. He had heard about the difficulties the group had been having, due to the small number of people they had working on this essential project. They could use some help, maybe he could call help for two people. Even though he knew the risks of exposing even more people to this situation. The Ministry didn't even know of this plan, or that he was even still alive. Every time Harry was in the Ministry and Hogwarts Grounds only, he could be seen by a select few, with the help on the incantation team of course.
"I don't see why not." Harry spoke into the silence.
"Harry, you know or the consequences that could occur if we chose some one untrustworthy." Sirius said seriously.
"Yes, I'm well aware of that but the team is in need, if we don't get all these spells created and mastered, we are not going to be very well off."
"I have to agree with Harry, Sirius, the team could always use some expert help." Dumbledore reasoned.
"I wasn't disagreeing with Harry, I was just forewarning."
"What is this expert's name?" Dumbledore asked.
"I'm not sure, but I think it's Helen or Mary... Mary Graja or something. I'll look into it right away, and inform you immediately." Lucille said.
"Well then, you are all dismissed, except you Harry, I need to have a word with you." Dumledore said. Harry thought he sounded tired. Dumbledore was getting older, it had been noticeable for years now. Harry just didn't know what he was going to do if Dumbledore passed away. He had taught Harry so much, and he was forever grateful.
Once everyone had exited the room Dumbledore sighed and turned towards Harry who was sitting across from him.
"What do you think about this Harry?"
"What... what do you mean?"
Dumbledore smiled and asked again. "I mean, what do you think about the progression of the dark forces?"
"I think... well what I didn't think that they were this far along. How they are moving so fast is beyond me. If only Lincoln could get closer, find out more information."
"Life is full of surprises Harry, you should just be prepared for the worst. What good would it do us if Lincoln was closer to the inner circle? It would only fill us with more dread and doubts. We just have to be prepared." Dumbledore said wisely.
"I guess you're right. We just have to be prepared." Dumbledore was always right, Harry thought. Always wise and logic, but sometimes that man could confuse even the brightest of people. Hermione even... Harry sighed sadly.
"Try to cheer up some Harry, as hard as that may seem. Things won't always stay this way. Well, I best be off, I have a school to attend to." Dumbledore smirked.
"But it's the weekend." Harry added.
"Ah, yes, but I do believe there's a Quidditch match today. Gryffindoor versus Slytherin. Should be an interesting match. Would you like to come?"
"It's Quidditch you're talking about here. Me and Quidditch. Of course I'd like to come!" Harry said cheerily. Even though he was no longer a child, he still acted like one. Not as much as he used to, but it was still rather frequent.
The two wizards left the room, shutting and locking the door, looking forward to watch a great game of Quidditch.
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A/N- So, there it is, chapter 3!! Hope you all liked it! And thanks very much for reviewing, make sure to keep reviewing, too! Your comments mean a lot to me.