A/N: Okay, sorry for the delay all. I got lazy and didn't feel like updating. The stuff in bold is Ally talking. Nick also apologizes profusely and begs everyone's forgiveness. All of you thank Ally (fanfiction name: Alexa Donaghy). *waves* She pretty much threatened my life if I didn't continue. And he still didn't continue, and asked me to co-author. *slaps Nick upside the head for not mentioning that it was SHE who wrote this chapter, with ideas and a bit of help from him* I love you babe. Suck up. She will also be my beta. *bows* Thanks bella. Yes, I have him wrapped around my little finger.
Chapter 11: Missing!
Remus sat up in his bed, finding sleep an impossible feat, as it always was after a full moon. Resolving to take a walk in order to clear his mind, he stood up and slipped on his robes. After grabbing his wand, he slipped out the door of Hagrid's hut (where he was currently taking up residence).
As he was walking towards the Forest, he spotted a familiar silver cloth lying on the wet, dew-covered grass… but it couldn't be… not James' old invisibility cloak… Remus shook his head, trying to dispel the thought, as he bent to pick it up. Worry rose in his throat as he fingered the ever-familiar, smooth material in his hands, and frantically searched in ever direction, with his alert amber eyes, for some sign of the Boy-Who-Lived.
"Hey Moony!"
Remus turned in the direction of his best friend's cheerful voice.
"You'll never believe it! We caught Pettigrew!"
Remus smiled weakly, still holding the cloak in his hands.
"Moony? You okay?" he asked, slowly walking towards the werewolf. "Is that Harry's old invisibility cloak?"
Remus nodded meekly, handing it over.
Sirius paled, the situation registering in his mind, and asked, "But why do you have it? Wh-where's Harry?"
Remus looked down and quietly replied, "I don't know where he is… I just found this lying here…"
Sirius broke into a run, heading for the main entrance, and didn't stop until he had reached the room that he and Harry shared.
Remus and Dumbledore (whom had come back with Sirius) exchanged anxious looks as they heard Sirius' roar of anger when he found Harry's bed empty.
"I'm going to call an emergency Alliance meeting," said Dumbledore, racing to his office faster than any man his age should be capable of.
Remus nodded and went to comfort his friend.
Once inside his office, Dumbledore sat down at his desk and began concentrating. He had a telepathic connection with each member of the Alliance, for summoning purposes.
He had created the Alliance when Voldemort first rose to power, over twenty years ago, and brought it back into being at the beginning of the summer. The Alliance consisted of fifty-six wizards and witches battling against the Dark Lord.
Soon, his office was crowded Alliance members, Sirius and Remus included. Members were able to get through the Apparition wards, into his office, which magically expanded to fit as many people as necessary.
"Albus, what is the meaning of this? It's the middle of the night!" exclaimed Mundungus Fletcher.
"I am sorry, Gus. I know it's late. However, it could not be avoided. It seems that young Harry Potter has gone missing."
The occupants of the room gasped.
"But Albus… are you sure?"
Dumbledore solemnly nodded his head.
"Yes, we are sure."
Arthur Weasley tentatively spoke up.
"What about his wand? Couldn't we trace it through its link to the Hogwarts division of the Ministry?"
Dumbledore shook his head and replied, "No, he would have to do magic in order for us to track his wand."
Mundungus then mentioned that someone else could be using Harry's wand, perhaps to throw them off.
Dumbledore thoughtfully stroked his beard and said, "No, the link is tuned into his magical signature. It's worth a try."
Within a few minutes, the meeting was adjourned. Most of the members went home, while Arthur returned to work. (He had been in the middle of a raid when he was summoned.)
"I suggest that the two of you get some rest. There's nothing more we can do tonight," said Dumbledore, heading into his chambers.
Sirius and Remus nodded and left.
"Do you want me to come with you? I could sleep in Harry's bed…" proposed Remus.
Sirius shook his head and muttered that he would much rather be alone, before heading in the direction of his room.
Remus shrugged his shoulders and walked back to his hut.
Sirius waited until he was positive that Remus was gone before sneaking to the one-eyed witch and entering the passage that led to Honeydukes.
When he reached Hogsmeade, he apparated to The Burrow and began banging on the door. After five minutes of banging, a frazzled-looking Molly Weasley in a green flannel housecoat answered the door.
Sirius ran in the house, yelling at the top of his lungs, "HARRY! HARRY, ARE YOU HERE?!?"
"Mr. Black! What on earth are you doing here?" she asked in an aggravated voice.
"Terribly sorry, Mrs. Weasley, but Harry has gone missing. I just wanted to double-check and see if he is here."
All the color in Mrs. Weasley's normally rosy cheeks drained away as she stammered, "N-no, I haven't seen him… But we can search the house anyway."
Sirius didn't hear her reply, however, because he had already run up the stairs opening every closed door, waking half the house.
Sirius made his was up the stairs and opened up Ginny's door. He looked inside and called Harry's name. Ginny, seeing an adult male's outline that wasn't her father, screamed as loud as her lungs would allow. Sirius didn't even register her scream as he made his way towards the attic.
"Whasagonon?" asked a sleepy Ron, rubbing at his eyes and yawning as he stepped out of his room.
Sirius threw his hands up in frustration and screeched, "HARRY'S MISSING!" as he closed the attic door.
Ron's eyes opened wide and Hermione grabbed his hand as he tried to run down the stairs to search any place that Sirius may have missed.
"Let me go! We've gotta find Harry!" he yelled.
"He's not here!" Hermione yelled back, having to compete with Sirius' calls for Harry, and the ghoul banging around in the attic, excited by all the commotion.
Sirius grabbed Hermione and Ron, and apparated with them to the Granger's living room.
"Um, Sirius? Why would Harry be at my house?" asked Hermione.
Sirius ignored her in favor of joining Ron in running to and fro, shouting Harry's name.
Dr. and Dr. Granger slowly made their way down the stairs and ran to their daughter.
"Hermione… what is going on?" asked her father.
"Harry is missing, and these two have gone insane," she answered, following the guys' movements with her eyes.
"I've got to do something… I don't think I would get expelled for this…" she continued, speaking more to herself than her parents.
She raised her wand and took a deep breath, before pointing it at Sirius and Ron in turn, yelling, "STUPEFY!"
Sirius and Ron hit the floor with a thud, as Hermione pointed her wand at them again, saying "Mobilicorpus!"
She guided them to the fireplace, and Flooed back to The Burrow.
Mrs. Weasley was sitting in a rocking chair, anxiously awaiting their return. She gasped when she saw the two unconscious bodies floating behind Hermione.
"Don't worry Mrs. Weasley, they're just Stunned. They were running around like chickens with their heads cut off," said Hermione, guiding the bodies to the couch.
"Well, I guess someone had to do it. Enervate!" replied Mrs. Weasley, pointing her wand at her son and Harry's godfather.
"NO! Don't you dare move!" she scolded when they tried to get up. "Ron, go to bed and GO TO SLEEP! Mr. Black you will sleep in the bed in Ron's room that Harry sleeps in when he is over. You are not going to accomplish anything by landing yourselves in St. Mungo's. Now go and get some sleep."
Sirius and Ron nodded and managed to squeak out a "Yes ma'am" each, before running up the stairs to escape further lecturing.
Mrs. Weasley then turned to Hermione and asked, "I assume you did the Stunning?"
Hermione nodded and swallowed hard, as she expected a harsh berating from the fiery redhead.
However, Mrs. Weasley merely smiled and said, "Well, thank goodness you were there. Now run along to bed with you."
The next morning, Mrs. Weasley mad breakfast and sent Sirius on his way.
He began the trek from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts, mumbling about hot-tempered redheads and teenage witches too smart for their own good. As he drew closer to the Forest, he stumbled upon Remus sniffing around the area where Harry's cloak had been found.
"Um, Moony… what are you doing?"
Remus looked up, startled that he had company, and replied, "I thought that maybe I could pick up some clues through my heightened sense, but I just can't find anything in my human form."
Remus could almost see the Muggle light bulb appear over Sirius' head as he shouted, "But I can do it!" before transforming into Snuffles.
The large black dog sniffed around the area, and followed the trail deep into the forest, before stopping at a large oak tree, and returning to his human form.
"Okay, I could pick one other scent besides Harry's. It was strange though… like *my* scent, combined with another that I know, but just can't place. The part that was my scent disappeared right over there, and there was a struggle up until this point. I lost the trail at this tree. They must have apparated, given that the wards stop just a few feet from this tree."
Remus nodded and replied, "Okay, so we know he was abducted. I don't know about that scent you described… the answer is on the tip of my tongue… Anyway, we need to talk to Snape..."
"What do we need to talk to that greasy old git for?!?" Sirius interrupted.
"Um, maybe because he's a spy for the Alliance, and can tell us if Harry is with Voldemort or not…"
Sirius grinned sheepishly as he said, "Oh… yeah, you're right. To the dungeons!"
The two remaining Marauders began making their way to the dungeons, but met their target near Dumbledore's office instead.
"Hello Severus," said Remus, with a cheery smile.
Snape's eyes narrowed suspiciously, wondering what prank these two had up their sleeves, and asked menacingly, "What do you want?"
"Well, as you know, Harry is missing…"
Snape nodded and mumbled something about a mindless prat wondering off and getting himself lost.
"Well Sirius here sniffed around in dog form and discovered a scent that combines his own and another that he knows, but can't place. He followed the trail into the forest, where the scent reminiscent of Sirius disappears, leaving only the familiar scent that he can't place. At that point there is a struggle. He followed the trail further, past the wards, where it ends."
The Potions Master growled and said, "So? He's been kidnapped. What does this have to do with me?"
Remus sighed and continued, "We were wondering if you knew whether or not he was a prisoner of Voldemort."
Snape said no and attempted to leave, but was stopped by Sirius throwing him against the wall and shouting, "What kind of bloody spy are you?!?"
Dumbledore stepped out of his office, his blue eyes devoid of their usual twinkle, and asked, "What in Merlin's name is going on here?"
"Snape is a bloody double agent! He knows Voldemort has Harry and won't tell me because he's on HIS side!"
Snape pushed Sirius off of him and brushed at his robes with a disgusted look on his face, while saying, "If I knew where the Potter boy was, I would most certainly say so. However, I have not been called to a meeting since last week, and therefore am not privy to Potter's whereabouts. And besides all that, I do not know where Voldemort is located. We answer the summons by Portkey, because he trusts none of his Death Eaters enough to reveal his location."
Dumbledore gravely nodded his head and replied, "Well do dig something up, Severus. If you have not been summoned before tomorrow night, then go on your own, saying that you have new information for him."
Snape nodded before turning on his heel and stalking off in the direction of the dungeons.
"Now," said Dumbledore, turning to Remus and Sirius. "I heard something about a strange scent. I believe you said it smelled of Sirius and something else he knew, but couldn't place, correct?"
The other two men nodded.
"I have a theory. I will be right back," said Dumbledore, heading for the dungeons.
Sirius turned to Remus, raising an eyebrow and asked, "What was that all about?"
Remus shook his head, not knowing the answer, and suggested that they wait in the Headmaster's office.
They spoke the password (Pixie Stix) and walked into the large, circular room.
"So, I guess we just sit here and twiddle our thumbs, waiting for him to get back?" asked Sirius.
Remus nodded, and they sat down to wait. Luckily the wait wasn't long, for the Headmaster soon returned with a vial of thick brown liquid in his hand.
"Polyjuice Potion!" he exclaimed gleefully, clipping a bit of his beard and dropping it into the vial, turning it into an extremely bright shade of lime green. "Here you go, Remus. Bottoms up!"
Remus looked up at the Headmaster incredulously and asked, "Uh… you expect me to drink THAT stuff? It looks radioactive!"
"Just drink it!"
Remus tentatively took the Potion from his boss and drank it. Seconds later, he was doubled over in pain, slowly changing into a carbon copy of Dumbledore.
"Okay, let's have Snuffles sniff him."
Sirius transformed into his Animagus form with a POP! and sniffed the area around Remus/Dumbledore, before changing back into himself, a bright light shining in his eyes.
"It's the same sort of combination. He smells like you and himself at the same time."
"Exactly!" said the Headmaster, triumphantly. "Whoever abducted Harry had maybe a bit of your hair, and took some Polyjuice Potion, therefore making Harry think it was you. Then, at the place where your scent disappeared, the Potion's timing ran out, and Harry tried to get away! It all makes sense!"
Remus and Sirius slowly nodded.
"Ah, it's lunchtime. Shall we, boys?"
Remus and Sirius exchanged mischievous glances, thinking of the uproar and confusion that would ensue when two Dumbledores entered the hall.
"Ooooh yeah…"
The three men strolled into the hall, ignoring the strange looks they received from the other Professors.
"Um, Dumbledore?" asked Arabella Figg.
"Yes?" answered both Dumbledores.
"Why are there two of you?" she asked, her beady brown eyes darting back and forth between the two of them.
"Oh, how rude of me! I would like everyone to meet my identical twin brother, Albie!" answered the real Dumbledore, as "Albie" waved.
"You've never mentioned that you had a twin," squeaked Flitwick.
"Are you quite sure, Filius? I speak of him all the time…" said Albus, sitting in his chair.
Sirius could hardy suppress his giggles as the other Professors shot bewildered looks toward Dumbledore and his "twin."
Soon, everyone found out that "Albie" resided and in Saxony, and was a long-retired Charms Professor. He had taught at Leprechaun Academy, a small school of magic in Ireland, for sixty years. He was just as spunky as Albus, and had come to Hogwarts for a long overdue visit with his younger brother. (Albus made sure to mention that "Albie" was only older by two and a half minutes.)
Near the end of the meal, however, McGonagall suddenly exclaimed, "Why Albie, you're looking younger… you're…. REMUS JHONEN LUPIN!!!"
"Ah damn," cursed Remus, as Sirius and Albus guffawed at their cleverness.
Snickers could be heard from the other Professors, but McGonagall was *not* amused.
"You're just like you were in school, and *you*, Albus… I thought you were above such petty things as that. How can the three of you be pulling pranks and having *fun* while Harry is gone?!?"
Professor Dumbledore sighed and said, "Minerva, I assure you, we are greatly grieved at Harry's absence. However, it would be wise for us to keep the morale up. We can't exactly think clearly enough to try to rescue him if we let grief cloud our thoughts. Everyone should carryon as normally as possible."
McGonagall left the hall with a huff, just as Snape walked in.
"Albus, I just received a Summons."
Dumbledore nodded and said, "Thank you for letting me know. If at all possible, please find out if he has Harry."
Severus nodded and walked to the edge of Hogsmeade, where he apparated to an old, dark forest in Lithuania. There, he saw a broken Rememberall lying on the ground. Suspecting that this was his Portkey, he picked it up. Immediately, he felt the familiar tug at his navel.
He looked at his new surroundings. Luxurious, plush hunter green carpet, ebony Gothic-style furniture, a high, vaulted ceiling, with a mural of the pits of Hell painted on it, and a large "throne" with an albino, snakelike man with sangoire eyes sitting on it… Lord Voldemort.
"Master," said Severus, with a deep bow.
"Ah yes, Severus… tell me, how does the Light fare without their precious Harry Potter?"
"They are most devastated, sire."
"Ah… Let me show something, a special *treat*, shall we say…" said the Dark Lord, standing and gesturing for Snape to follow him.
Severus followed his "Master" dutifully through several dark halls and down many flights of stairs, until they reached the Torture Chamber, Voldemort's own private prison.
Inside, Harry was crouched in a corner, naked, his emerald eyes glinting with anger. Severus noted the lacerations across his back, but was thankful that he was not yet broken. He noticed another figure hiding in the shadows, but could not make out whom it was.
"He will join me. The boy is too weak to withstand me."
As soon as the meeting ended, Severus ran to the Headmaster's office.
"He's with Voldemort, in the Torture Chamber," he said, breathlessly.
Dumbledore looked up, fear crossing his features. Only one other person that he knew of had ever made it out of the Chamber alive. That one person had been James Potter.
"Is he…" he asked, not wanting to finish the sentence.
"He is still alive, and still has his spirit. However, it has only been one day…"
The Headmaster nodded and absentmindedly stroked Fawkes' feathers.
"Thank you, Severus."
One week passed before Albus excitedly called Sirius and Remus into his office.
"Harry used his wand! We have enough spell feedback that we can trace it within two hundred and fifty miles of his location."
"We can't get any closer than that?" Sirius asked, disappointedly.
"No, I'm sorry, Sirius. His wand had been damaged. In fact, I think it may have been destroyed. I know it's not much, but it's a start," answered Albus, getting out a large map. "See that little red dot moving along there? That's the link pinpointing the area… Ah yes, he is somewhere in… Siberia…"
A/N: Again, Nick apologizes for the wait. Don't worry, from now on I will nag him until he agrees to work on the chapter. We have lots of plans for this story. Now, I'll be giving out the cookies for reviewers, since Nick was too lazy to do it and asked me too. I'm only going to be cookie-ing Chapter 10 though.
Amy: Yes, I noticed that too. It won't happen anymore though, with me beta reading. *evil laugh*
Angelxd14: Princess Anna! Hey babe! Hope to see more reviews from you soon! Love ya! ~Queen Alexa
FF Luva: Ooooooh looky it's a flame!!! I get to mock you! You know, maybe you should wait until a story progresses more before flaming it. It's supposed to be confusing in order to keep readers intrigued. And for your information, the story is planned quite well. *feeds the flame to Hermione the Kitty*
Shadow of a Cat: I keep telling Nick the same thing, but he won't listen to me.
eranimation-limited2-nothing: I take it that's a good thing?
ranger: Nick again apologizes and is glad you like it.
CastusAlbusCor: Nick is glad you think so.