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CLAWS
OF A RAVEN
by Tyde
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Chapter Twenty Nine
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An unbreakable jar with holes in the top (courtesy of Hermione) sat on the mantelpiece with a fat, terrified rat in it. At least three times a day he would squeak loudly and push the jar over in an attempt to escape, but would just end up rolling around on the floor until Sirius ranted and raved that Peter was lucky they hadn't killed him yet. That stopped the rat from trying to escape and he sat and chewed at his own tail for a good part of the day. His presence in the household had shifted the dynamic and everyone seemed more focussed and more determined to nip this threat in the bud. Number one on the agenda was to find locations of known Death Eaters and catch them by surprise, so they could 'throw their sorry arses in gaol' as Ron had put it. A tip off by anonymous crow (owls were too obvious) led the group to a house just outside of Hogsmeade. It wasn't far from Hogwarts which seemed to raise further suspicions that this lead was one worth following. Remus and Hermione searched around the garden to make sure there were no unexpected traps or magic barriers while Sirius and Ron kept watch at the front and back of the house respectively. Sorora and the Boy Who Lived headed in through the back door with their wands drawn and into the kitchen.
A cauldron sat on the ashes of a fire and something looked congealed in the bottom of it. Harry caught a whiff and screwed up his nose. "Not very pleasant. My guess is they cleared out a few days ago"
"They may have left a clue of some sort. We'll continue the search. You head into the dining room and I'll tackle upstairs" she said in a hoarse whisper.
"Okay" Harry agreed and just as he made to push open the swing door to the dining room he heard a shuffling coming from the basement. With a point of his wand he indicated to Sorora that he would investigate. "Probably a rat" he mouthed as he disappeared down the dark hole.
The stone steps didn't exactly muffle normal footsteps but he was glad for the insight of wearing his running shoes that day. The rubber on the soles absorbed any unnecessary noise and he swiftly descended the steps. There were a number of large crates at the bottom of the staircase that blocked the view of the rest of the room. He heard the shuffling noise again, and darned not breath as it might give away his location. Making sure he had a secure grip on his wand, he peeked his head around the nearest crate. A blonde haired teenager was pocketing something and looking around the room as if scanning it clues like a Muggle detective.
"Malfoy"
The Slytherin spun around and his eyes flashed at Harry. "What are you doing here, Scarhead?" he snarled.
"Investigating a lead. And look what I found" He pointed his wand at the blonde boy.
Malfoy smirked, as he always did. "You think I'm scared of you? That's a laugh. Do you think any of us are scared of you? You'll never survive this war, Potter. He's got big plans for you"
"Doesn't he always? Try something original Malfoy, I've heard it all"
"He's more powerful than ever. How does that make you feel, Potter? He will reduce you to dust in seconds. Now that He is back you and the Mudbloods and the Muggles, you don't stand a chance. Not even with that fool Dumbledore leading you"
"So you've become a Death Eater like your father then"
"I have joined the ultimate power if that is what you mean. Us Death Eaters no longer have any reason to hide. Now that He is back for good, authority and meddlers will fall. We will control you all...if you aren't already rotting in a grave somewhere that is"
A clatter of footsteps on the stairs alerted their attention to Sorora who had just appeared around the crates was looking at the younger Malfoy with loathing. "Draco" she spat out.
"Hello there, Professor" he said pleasantly. "I was wondering when I'd run into you again. Father's been refreshing my memory of late. Heard some wonderful things about you. Been to any good torturings lately? I know I have" He smiled an evil smile and then without warning hit her with the Cruciatus Curse. She felt instantly to the ground, cracking both knees on the hard floor. Draco raised his voice above the screams coming from her mouth as Harry stood frozen in shock. "Father still laughs about it, you know. Thinks fondly on it. The torture of Snape's stupid little sister...mind and body. It was my favourite bed time story growing up" Finally Harry shook the shock and leapt into gear, knocking Malfoy over and grabbing his wand in the process. With his concentration broken the Curse was lifted and she knelt there shaking, her top lip quivering.
Harry looked over at her. "Professor – are you okay?" He expected a nod but it did not come. She dropped onto the floor and drew her knees up to her chest. Terror flooded her eyes and she started to rock back and forth muttering to herself. Draco used this momentary distraction to Apparate.
Harry felt the slight breeze and turned. "Bloody hell! He's gone" Looking down at his hands he saw a welt on his fingers from when Malfoy had snatched the wand back suddenly. The dark magic infecting the wand had caused it. "Since when did he learn to Apparate?" Harry moved towards Sorora and as he did Hermione came running down the stairs in a panic.
"Harry! Are you behind there? HARRY!" she shouted. "We think we may know where You Know Who is. Sirius picked up a scent"
Harry looked glum. "Let me guess, the Malfoy Manor?"
The surprised could be heard in her voice. "How did you know? Well anyway, obviously there is some underground facility that we're not aware of and that must be whe-" Hermione finally came into view and could see what Harry was looking at. "Professor!" The girl fell to the ground next to Sorora and looked her over critically. "Harry, what happened?"
"Malfoy hit her with the Cruciatus Curse"
Hermione looked up sharply. "Draco? He was here?"
"Yeah. Appeared to be looking for something. He was here a few moments ago but he Apparated out" Sorora startled him by shrieking and beginning to claw incessantly at her stomach. "It hit her really badly, Hermione. When Voldemort inflicted it on me it was the most excruciating thing I'd ever felt. The pain was unbearable and there was still echoes of it hours after – but I don't think Draco did it the normal way"
His best friend frowned. "What do you mean?"
"He put his own twist on it. He mentioned something about his father torturing her years ago. He used a different method – mind and body he said. I think Draco pushed her over the edge"
Hermione waved her hand in front of the older witch's face. The eyelids fluttered and she let out a little cry of pain.
"She sees something. She's concentrating on something that we can't see, it isn't really here, but she thinks it is. He put images in her head"
A fresh peal of screams issued from the woman and the Prefect looked up at Harry in horror as Sorora scrambled across the room and started banging her head into the wall.
"Harry, I think she's reliving it all"
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They arrived back at the cottage to discover Madam Pomfrey and two other people that looked familiar, Arabella Figg and Mundungus Fletcher. Arabella was enlarging the lounge room to fit three more beds in while Mundungus was brewing some hot water on the stove for tea and hot chocolate. A brace of letters were sitting on the kitchen table, many of which had been opened. One floated into Sirius's hand and as he skimmed it quickly he looked up at Mundungus who pointed to the back room and nodded. Harry's godfather leant down to whisper in his ear.
"Dumbledore needs to speak with you Harry, he says it extremely important" Harry looked put out.
"Mind you pay attention to Albus" interjected Mundungus. "Young wizards are always going off half-cocked and not respecting the opinions of those older and wiser. Why, in my day-"
"Okay, where do I need to go?"
"Mundungus has set up the fireplace in the back room, Dumbledore'll be there in about 10 minutes. Take a cup of hot chocolate with you" he pushed a warm mug into Harry's hands and bid him leave.
Harry sat down on an overstuffed chair and tried to get comfortable. The sounds of Sorora screaming were still imprinted into his mind and he tried to shake it. The fire crackled warmly and invitingly at him. He thought he saw one of the flames wink at him and then seem to twinkle a little. Slowly the head of Albus Dumbledore formed and settled itself into the grate.
"Good afternoon Harry"
"Hallo sir" Harry half smiled, wondering if he was going to be told off again. "I hope you're not going to try and convince me to give up what I'm doing"
"Not entirely Harry, I have a very serious topic to talk about. It involves your future and the future of the wizarding world"
Harry leaned forward and the fire danced in his deep green eyes. "Go on"
"The existence of both you and Lord Voldemort are tantamount to the existence of this world as we know it. You've seen the difficulties we face now during the uprising. Imagine what it would be like if you were to die? The balance of power will spin out of control. If you die the Dark side will engulf us all and there will be no hope of resistance, no matter how hard we fight"
"I don't understand, sir. How can all of this rely on me? I'm just Harry Potter – it may be a famous name, but there isn't anything all that special about me"
Dumbledore smiled sadly. "And that is where you are wrong, I'm afraid. Harry, you are the sole living heir of Godric Gryffindor"
"Me? The Heir of Gryffindor" Harry's eyes widened as he took in all this new information. "So...so that's why Voldemort killed my parents – and why he is trying to kill me. It's to get rid of the lineage"
"Yes, Harry"
"Why didn't you tell me all this before"
"You've had so much to deal with already. Could you honestly say that the fate of the wizarding world would rest easily on your shoulders?"
"No" he admitted. "I'm sorry. I have been acting rather stupid lately, haven't I?"
Dumbledore smiled. "Bravery comes in many forms, just be sure it does not lead to foolish ventures"
"Why is it that the balance of power will be upset if the Gryffindor heir is killed? What about the heirs of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw? Don't they factor in?"
Dumbledore bowed his head. "Voldemort has already taken care of that. No doubt he wanted to see how that would effect the situation. It did not. Like yourself, Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott were not just Hogwarts students. They carried a long and important history inside of them"
"But he left me to the last?"
"Yes, but Harry you cannot kill him nor can anyone. If you do the unbalance will break the community apart. Each world needs evil to be evident so that it may exist. If you take it away then the unpredictability of the people left to their own devices could be catastrophic"
"So we fight him but we can't defeat him?"
"Defeat has many definitions, only one of which includes death. We will defeat him Harry, but we must be careful that he does not defeat us in the process. Defeat can be a terrible game played in the mind Harry, so I ask that you step back from the fray. I do hope you heed my warnings this time. You may continue your work with the others, but you cannot launch yourself into the spotlight so that Voldemort may easily find you. It may not always be appreciated, but the work done by those behind the battlelines is sometimes the most vital" and his face faded from the flames.
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Author's note: I know, it's been done – but with Harry being the Heir of Gryffindor it sure explains why Voldemort would want to kill him. And I like it when Sorora goes nuts...making your characters suffer is the perk of being a writer hehe.
Colleen – I didn't know that. Call me stupid but what's trans-fat? Our government just released it's new budget and I now get $4 more a week in my pay packet due to tax cuts. *sarc* Gee, um thanks, let's break out the champagne. Idiots.
labrisa – Well I hadn't planned to kill him, but maybe I'll do it just for you cause you love the story :o) Harry won't do it though, no matter how much he wants to – that would be crossing a line that I don't think he should cross because there would be too much fall out from it. Bucket loads of angst for instance. He actually does something in the last chapter that he gets worried about though, but it's nowhere near as bad as killing. In my opinion anyway. A certain other character in this story might disagree.
