A/N I know I said this would take a long time but…um…I doubt that you're
really that angry. Thank you to summersun, Jim, the man of few words, and
Hyper Princess (hugs back, yay!) for reviewing. I really do appreciate it!
I apologise to any astronomers in advance, I don't much about the Dog Star, Sirius except that there is one and it's in Canis Maoir.
Btw, my offer still stands, if anyone wants to know when I update let me know and I'll email you! Lol ^_^
The night was cold and the wind harsh. In the shadows, Voldemort waited impatiently for his servant to return. He smiled; Hogwarts would fall now that he had dealt with the Potter boy…
A crackling of twigs and the swish of robes in the undergrowth: Wormtail. The short podgy man hurried forward to his master and bowed quickly. He cowered at the cruel look in his Lord's eyes and at the mad smile that curved his lips.
"Well, is all as planned Wormtail?" The voice was crisp and high.
"Y-Yes master. The Potter boy is…indisposed and, and the Betrayer is ready."
Voldemort's smile grew to a grin. "Is the Betrayer well placed?"
Wormtail allowed himself a chuckle. "Excellently placed, my lord."
"Good. At least you did not bungle this up as badly as the last."
Wormtail shuddered. "T-Thank you m-master." He turned as if to go.
"Not yet Wormtail. I have another job for you. The Divination Professor, I believe she is named Trelawney, has made her third real prediction. She has already ruined my plans once; I will not allow her to do it again. She must be killed. Inform the Betrayer."
Wormtail nodded and once again turned to move away.
"Oh and Wormtail?
"Y-Yes?"
"This is for keeping me waiting."
Wormtail was instantly overwhelmed by a wave of intense pain. His screams of agony mingled with the pitiless laughter of his master and the two sounds drifted up into the cold night air.
* * *
Ron watched anxiously as Dumbledore bent over Harry's body. Harry still wasn't breathing at all and he wasn't even sure if there was a pulse. *Oh God, please don't die Harry, please!*
Dumbledore looked up, a worried expression on his face and the clear blue eyes had lost their sparkle. He held out his wand pointing it directly at Harry's chest, took a deep breath and uttered a few well-chosen words. A warm yellow glow ebbed out of the end of the wand and settled over Harry's heart where it shimmered once, twice and then disappeared slowly.
Ron could hardly believe his eyes when he saw Harry take a small, but unmistakeable, breath…
* * *
Padfoot padded silently through the forest. The night was cold and bitter and the wind was strong, but Padfoot was protected by the towering trunks of the trees that sheltered him from the wind. The stars shone clear and bright in the night sky. Padfoot paused and peered up at the sky. He smiled inwardly as he saw the brightest star in the heavens, the Dog Star Sirius. *That's my star!* He bent his nose to the ground and sniffed hungrily for the scent he was trying to follow.
Suddenly, he caught it: a faint whiff on the still air. He raised his head and bayed before padding off once more. *If Sirius is the Dog Star, I suppose I'm the hunting dog of the sky…*
* * *
Dumbledore heaved a great sigh of relief and turned to Ron who was still hovering anxiously nearby. "Get Madame Pomfrey and bring her here immediately. Harry may not have long." Ron nodded and sped off.
Dumbledore leant back and watched Harry's laboured breathing. The boy was deathly pale but his skin was burning. He berated himself. *I shouldn't have let this happen. I should have known something like this would happen away from the protection of his relatives…* He shook his head stubbornly. There was nothing he could do now: the Order of the Phoenix had arisen and it wasn't going to go away.
A few moments later, his reverie was broken by the sound of heavy breathing and two pairs of feet running down the corridor. Suddenly, the figures of Ron and Madame Pomfrey appeared silhouetted in the door way. Madame Pomfrey let out a sharp breath and hurried to Harry's side. She fussed for several minutes, checking this and that before turning to Dumbledore, a fierce expression in her eyes.
"How the hell did he manage this?"
"Voldemort, Poppy. It has started."
Madame Pomfrey gasped and raised a hand to her mouth. Her next words were in a whisper. "We should get him to the hospital now. As far as I can see, he's in no danger from being moved."
Dumbledore nodded and conjured up a stretcher.
* * *
Padfoot hurried faster and faster: he could smell the scent of his quarry stronger as he travelled nearer and nearer. A sound, tiny to the human ear, rang like an alarm bell. He halted in his tracks. Cautiously, he sniffed the air for any sign of predators: there were none but… there it was! It was faint but he could have recognised it anywhere. The shaggy black dog quailed, then turned and ran back, tail between his legs.
He never wanted to be near the Dementors ever again.
He may have gone another way however if he had known that, directly ahead of him, a group of Death Eaters were also making their way through the forest.
The wind died down slightly and the trees ceased their constant movement. The night remained silent. That is until there came the sound of a terrified yelp, a few moments of crashing undergrowth and then finally, terribly, the sound of an agonised howl that hung in the air.
* * *
Harry was trapped: he just couldn't find his way out. He was floating, suspended in oblivion, detached from his body. He could see his body, as if in a dream, lying on a bed motionless and hardly breathing. It didn't make sense. Why should he be here and, at the same time, there?
"Harry, Harry? Can you hear me? Harry!"
Part of Harry could see the worried face of Professor Dumbledore leaning over him; the other part could see nothing but black. It was very confusing and rather dizzying. The noise was deafening and he wanted it to go away. And he told it so, or he tried to. But even such a simple thought process as that proved incredibly difficult. He had to think it through one step at a time.
The voice came again, deafening and buzzing. "Harry, if you can hear me you have to try to wake up! Please."
Another voice, higher and ear splitting. "Albus, what do you think you're doing?"
A sigh. "This isn't an ordinary sleep Poppy! This is some sort of a curse."
A brief intake of breath. "You-know-who cursed him? But how Albus, he wasn't anywhere near!"
"It has something to do with the Order of the Phoenix. We can't do anything but encourage Harry…"
Harry stopped listening to them; they were far too loud. Besides, he was trying to order his thought processes and it was taking an extraordinary amount of concentration and energy. He sighed and pushed everything away so that he could focus on one thing: himself.
It took a while, but gradually he was awarded by the sense of lifting, as if the wreaths that enveloped him were slowly falling away.
A sudden interruption: "Albus," high and terrified, "what's happening? He's burning up!"
NO! He pushed them away and fought harder…there was something there: something that stopped him from regaining consciousness. It hovered just above him, tantalisingly out of reach. Yet however hard he tried, he couldn't reach it. Exhausted, he gave up the struggle, sinking back into the darkness that waited for him.
There was a sound, bell-like and warm. Soft, sweet and pure, his heart rejoiced: it was phoenix song. There was a burst of intense light, so bright that Harry screwed his eyes shut. He could feel the presence of Fawkes near him, encouraging him, urging him to struggle harder.
With the aid of Fawkes, Harry floundered upwards towards the light and the voices. The obstruction halted him but he pressed against it and it shattered into hundreds of pieces. There was a sensation of floating upwards, drifting easily.
The world slammed back into perspective leaving him breathless and terribly weak. He took a shuddering breath, and then another. Slowly, he forced his eyes open. Pain exploded behind his eyelids…
* * *
Sirius woke feeling groggy and disorientated. He peeled his eyes open slowly and squinted as light flooded in. He could tell he had transformed back into a man: his senses were duller, his thoughts more complicated.
What was he doing here? Who brought him here? And, most importantly, where was here? He raised his head to try and see better. He was bound, he could tell that much from the sudden pain and pressure in his chest, wrists and ankles. He ignored the pain and struggled into an upright position.
Once sitting, he took stock of his surroundings. He was in some sort of a cell, damp and almost pitch black. The only light came from the tiny window positioned high on the opposite wall. Through it, he could just see the moon. He smiled, he liked the moon: it reminded him of Moony.
Sirius became alert as he heard the soft swishing of robes outside. Footsteps halted outside his door, then the door was slid open with a loud bang. Peering in at him was a face Sirius would rather not see. It was Peter Pettigrew. Peter seemed thin and gaunt but greed and hunger burned behind his delirious eyes. Peter grinned maliciously at him and walked forwards. Sirius stared back at him with defiance and hatred. He vaguely noticed the silver hand that Harry had told Dumbledore of.
Harry! Sirius panicked. He had a strange feeling that Harry was in danger from Voldemort. It was strange he reflected, that as Peter advanced upon him grinning like a lunatic, his thoughts should be not for him but for his Godson, Harry…
* * *
Albus Dumbledore sighed and tried to explain to Poppy, for the fifth time that night, what the Order was.
"It is not a…a being as you would call it then. It does not strive for evil or for good. It simply protects those under it until they are of a time to understand it and confront it better."
Poppy frowned. "But that would mean that You-Know-Who is under the protection of the Order as well as Harry."
Dumbledore nodded. "That is one of the draw backs. The Order however, will prevent Voldemort from physically killing Harry, until they are both released, and that is the good thing."
"But why has it come now?"
"The Order will only arise when there comes a time when two wizards force their brother wands to do battle against each other. There have only been two recorded Orders before this one. The first was, I believe, in 1425. That was the Order of the Dragon. The more recent incident was in 1905 and that was the Order of the Unicorn. There has never been an Order of the Phoenix before. Each Order will have its own characteristics, much like those it protects, and that is the reason I was anxious that this should not happen. I know nothing about this particular Order!"
Poppy glanced at Harry who was still inert before speaking again. "Well, it has happened Albus and you mustn't beat yourself up for it. We have to try and discover the particular traits of this Order."
Dumbledore nodded. "That is the reason I tried to wake Harry earlier. I believe that one of the traits of this Order is that the two involved share some sort of a link between them. I think that Voldemort has been manipulating that link, and that is probably the reason he wanted Harry's blood in the resurrection: it would make the connection stronger and therefore easier for him to control. Harry did not sleep-walk tonight, I am certain of it. Voldemort made him go to that room."
Poppy shivered at the angry glint in the Headmaster's eyes. "Why that room?"
Dumbledore sighed and the anger dropped away like a cloak. "I do not know and I so dearly wish that I did." He brightened. "But that selfishness in taking Harry's blood will be the downfall of him. Harry's blood has made him mortal and not immortal."
Poppy nodded, hope once more suffusing her veins. "But if the Order protects, why has it allowed You-Know-Who to do this to Harry?"
"Voldemort has found a way to control the Order to his own advantage. While he cannot physically kill Harry, he can kill Harry from the inside out until what remains is but a shell. The effect would be much the same as a Dementor's Kiss."
Poppy shuddered. "We can't let that happen!"
Dumbledore nodded fiercely. "Although the Order cannot be broken until Fawkes, who is the guardian, chooses, we can find a way to shield Harry from Voldemort." His eyes took on an almost mad light. "And perhaps we can find a way to retaliate."
Both were interrupted by a faint groan from Harry. The light that had been in Dumbledore's eyes only a second before, now vanished and he was by Harry's side in seconds. Poppy's eyes widened.
"Albus, what's happening? He's burning up!"
Dumbledore was speechless. Harry was reeling on the bed, sweat pouring down his temples. His eyes rolled madly and his breaths came in ragged gasps. Dumbledore could see that Harry was fighting some sort of an internal struggle.
Abruptly, the movement ceased. Harry's body slumped and fell down back onto the bed. He took a shuddering breath, and then another.
Both Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey sighed with immense relief as the vivid emerald eyes finally flickered painfully open.
* * *
Hundreds of miles away, in a tiny dark cell an agonised scream broke the silence of the night. The screams continued for several hours…
A/N MWAA HAHAHAHA! ANOTHER CLIFFIE! Hey, I'm getting good at this.
I hope the explanation of the Order of the Phoenix was good enough but if it wasn't let me know and I'll try to make it better. Promise (but you'll have to tell me what you didn't understand!) Any questions are welcome. ^_^
So, hopefully, you're starting to get the prediction now (if not I suggest you read the prediction again and then read Padfoot's bits in this chapter *very* carefully).
You can flame me now if you want (although please give a reason). You didn't think I'd let Harry die did you? Well, maybe I will later on in a chapter I'm naming "Prongs". And he's not in a very good state at the moment anyway.
And any Snape fans will soon see another appearance of their fave Potions master! Yay! (gooo Snape!!!!!!)
And what's going to happen to Sirius? He's in a rather sticky situation!
Thank you for reading and please REVIEW (I really really like them)
Come back every now and then if you liked it to see when I update. I promise I'll never keep you waiting that long:-)
Luv Baasheep
Xx
P.S Please review! A few mentions to other people here and there wouldn't go amiss either…looks up at the ceiling whistling innocently
Thanx, luv ya!
PPS I'm already thinking of a sequel but only if enough people want it so if you want one you'll have to review and let me know.
I apologise to any astronomers in advance, I don't much about the Dog Star, Sirius except that there is one and it's in Canis Maoir.
Btw, my offer still stands, if anyone wants to know when I update let me know and I'll email you! Lol ^_^
The night was cold and the wind harsh. In the shadows, Voldemort waited impatiently for his servant to return. He smiled; Hogwarts would fall now that he had dealt with the Potter boy…
A crackling of twigs and the swish of robes in the undergrowth: Wormtail. The short podgy man hurried forward to his master and bowed quickly. He cowered at the cruel look in his Lord's eyes and at the mad smile that curved his lips.
"Well, is all as planned Wormtail?" The voice was crisp and high.
"Y-Yes master. The Potter boy is…indisposed and, and the Betrayer is ready."
Voldemort's smile grew to a grin. "Is the Betrayer well placed?"
Wormtail allowed himself a chuckle. "Excellently placed, my lord."
"Good. At least you did not bungle this up as badly as the last."
Wormtail shuddered. "T-Thank you m-master." He turned as if to go.
"Not yet Wormtail. I have another job for you. The Divination Professor, I believe she is named Trelawney, has made her third real prediction. She has already ruined my plans once; I will not allow her to do it again. She must be killed. Inform the Betrayer."
Wormtail nodded and once again turned to move away.
"Oh and Wormtail?
"Y-Yes?"
"This is for keeping me waiting."
Wormtail was instantly overwhelmed by a wave of intense pain. His screams of agony mingled with the pitiless laughter of his master and the two sounds drifted up into the cold night air.
* * *
Ron watched anxiously as Dumbledore bent over Harry's body. Harry still wasn't breathing at all and he wasn't even sure if there was a pulse. *Oh God, please don't die Harry, please!*
Dumbledore looked up, a worried expression on his face and the clear blue eyes had lost their sparkle. He held out his wand pointing it directly at Harry's chest, took a deep breath and uttered a few well-chosen words. A warm yellow glow ebbed out of the end of the wand and settled over Harry's heart where it shimmered once, twice and then disappeared slowly.
Ron could hardly believe his eyes when he saw Harry take a small, but unmistakeable, breath…
* * *
Padfoot padded silently through the forest. The night was cold and bitter and the wind was strong, but Padfoot was protected by the towering trunks of the trees that sheltered him from the wind. The stars shone clear and bright in the night sky. Padfoot paused and peered up at the sky. He smiled inwardly as he saw the brightest star in the heavens, the Dog Star Sirius. *That's my star!* He bent his nose to the ground and sniffed hungrily for the scent he was trying to follow.
Suddenly, he caught it: a faint whiff on the still air. He raised his head and bayed before padding off once more. *If Sirius is the Dog Star, I suppose I'm the hunting dog of the sky…*
* * *
Dumbledore heaved a great sigh of relief and turned to Ron who was still hovering anxiously nearby. "Get Madame Pomfrey and bring her here immediately. Harry may not have long." Ron nodded and sped off.
Dumbledore leant back and watched Harry's laboured breathing. The boy was deathly pale but his skin was burning. He berated himself. *I shouldn't have let this happen. I should have known something like this would happen away from the protection of his relatives…* He shook his head stubbornly. There was nothing he could do now: the Order of the Phoenix had arisen and it wasn't going to go away.
A few moments later, his reverie was broken by the sound of heavy breathing and two pairs of feet running down the corridor. Suddenly, the figures of Ron and Madame Pomfrey appeared silhouetted in the door way. Madame Pomfrey let out a sharp breath and hurried to Harry's side. She fussed for several minutes, checking this and that before turning to Dumbledore, a fierce expression in her eyes.
"How the hell did he manage this?"
"Voldemort, Poppy. It has started."
Madame Pomfrey gasped and raised a hand to her mouth. Her next words were in a whisper. "We should get him to the hospital now. As far as I can see, he's in no danger from being moved."
Dumbledore nodded and conjured up a stretcher.
* * *
Padfoot hurried faster and faster: he could smell the scent of his quarry stronger as he travelled nearer and nearer. A sound, tiny to the human ear, rang like an alarm bell. He halted in his tracks. Cautiously, he sniffed the air for any sign of predators: there were none but… there it was! It was faint but he could have recognised it anywhere. The shaggy black dog quailed, then turned and ran back, tail between his legs.
He never wanted to be near the Dementors ever again.
He may have gone another way however if he had known that, directly ahead of him, a group of Death Eaters were also making their way through the forest.
The wind died down slightly and the trees ceased their constant movement. The night remained silent. That is until there came the sound of a terrified yelp, a few moments of crashing undergrowth and then finally, terribly, the sound of an agonised howl that hung in the air.
* * *
Harry was trapped: he just couldn't find his way out. He was floating, suspended in oblivion, detached from his body. He could see his body, as if in a dream, lying on a bed motionless and hardly breathing. It didn't make sense. Why should he be here and, at the same time, there?
"Harry, Harry? Can you hear me? Harry!"
Part of Harry could see the worried face of Professor Dumbledore leaning over him; the other part could see nothing but black. It was very confusing and rather dizzying. The noise was deafening and he wanted it to go away. And he told it so, or he tried to. But even such a simple thought process as that proved incredibly difficult. He had to think it through one step at a time.
The voice came again, deafening and buzzing. "Harry, if you can hear me you have to try to wake up! Please."
Another voice, higher and ear splitting. "Albus, what do you think you're doing?"
A sigh. "This isn't an ordinary sleep Poppy! This is some sort of a curse."
A brief intake of breath. "You-know-who cursed him? But how Albus, he wasn't anywhere near!"
"It has something to do with the Order of the Phoenix. We can't do anything but encourage Harry…"
Harry stopped listening to them; they were far too loud. Besides, he was trying to order his thought processes and it was taking an extraordinary amount of concentration and energy. He sighed and pushed everything away so that he could focus on one thing: himself.
It took a while, but gradually he was awarded by the sense of lifting, as if the wreaths that enveloped him were slowly falling away.
A sudden interruption: "Albus," high and terrified, "what's happening? He's burning up!"
NO! He pushed them away and fought harder…there was something there: something that stopped him from regaining consciousness. It hovered just above him, tantalisingly out of reach. Yet however hard he tried, he couldn't reach it. Exhausted, he gave up the struggle, sinking back into the darkness that waited for him.
There was a sound, bell-like and warm. Soft, sweet and pure, his heart rejoiced: it was phoenix song. There was a burst of intense light, so bright that Harry screwed his eyes shut. He could feel the presence of Fawkes near him, encouraging him, urging him to struggle harder.
With the aid of Fawkes, Harry floundered upwards towards the light and the voices. The obstruction halted him but he pressed against it and it shattered into hundreds of pieces. There was a sensation of floating upwards, drifting easily.
The world slammed back into perspective leaving him breathless and terribly weak. He took a shuddering breath, and then another. Slowly, he forced his eyes open. Pain exploded behind his eyelids…
* * *
Sirius woke feeling groggy and disorientated. He peeled his eyes open slowly and squinted as light flooded in. He could tell he had transformed back into a man: his senses were duller, his thoughts more complicated.
What was he doing here? Who brought him here? And, most importantly, where was here? He raised his head to try and see better. He was bound, he could tell that much from the sudden pain and pressure in his chest, wrists and ankles. He ignored the pain and struggled into an upright position.
Once sitting, he took stock of his surroundings. He was in some sort of a cell, damp and almost pitch black. The only light came from the tiny window positioned high on the opposite wall. Through it, he could just see the moon. He smiled, he liked the moon: it reminded him of Moony.
Sirius became alert as he heard the soft swishing of robes outside. Footsteps halted outside his door, then the door was slid open with a loud bang. Peering in at him was a face Sirius would rather not see. It was Peter Pettigrew. Peter seemed thin and gaunt but greed and hunger burned behind his delirious eyes. Peter grinned maliciously at him and walked forwards. Sirius stared back at him with defiance and hatred. He vaguely noticed the silver hand that Harry had told Dumbledore of.
Harry! Sirius panicked. He had a strange feeling that Harry was in danger from Voldemort. It was strange he reflected, that as Peter advanced upon him grinning like a lunatic, his thoughts should be not for him but for his Godson, Harry…
* * *
Albus Dumbledore sighed and tried to explain to Poppy, for the fifth time that night, what the Order was.
"It is not a…a being as you would call it then. It does not strive for evil or for good. It simply protects those under it until they are of a time to understand it and confront it better."
Poppy frowned. "But that would mean that You-Know-Who is under the protection of the Order as well as Harry."
Dumbledore nodded. "That is one of the draw backs. The Order however, will prevent Voldemort from physically killing Harry, until they are both released, and that is the good thing."
"But why has it come now?"
"The Order will only arise when there comes a time when two wizards force their brother wands to do battle against each other. There have only been two recorded Orders before this one. The first was, I believe, in 1425. That was the Order of the Dragon. The more recent incident was in 1905 and that was the Order of the Unicorn. There has never been an Order of the Phoenix before. Each Order will have its own characteristics, much like those it protects, and that is the reason I was anxious that this should not happen. I know nothing about this particular Order!"
Poppy glanced at Harry who was still inert before speaking again. "Well, it has happened Albus and you mustn't beat yourself up for it. We have to try and discover the particular traits of this Order."
Dumbledore nodded. "That is the reason I tried to wake Harry earlier. I believe that one of the traits of this Order is that the two involved share some sort of a link between them. I think that Voldemort has been manipulating that link, and that is probably the reason he wanted Harry's blood in the resurrection: it would make the connection stronger and therefore easier for him to control. Harry did not sleep-walk tonight, I am certain of it. Voldemort made him go to that room."
Poppy shivered at the angry glint in the Headmaster's eyes. "Why that room?"
Dumbledore sighed and the anger dropped away like a cloak. "I do not know and I so dearly wish that I did." He brightened. "But that selfishness in taking Harry's blood will be the downfall of him. Harry's blood has made him mortal and not immortal."
Poppy nodded, hope once more suffusing her veins. "But if the Order protects, why has it allowed You-Know-Who to do this to Harry?"
"Voldemort has found a way to control the Order to his own advantage. While he cannot physically kill Harry, he can kill Harry from the inside out until what remains is but a shell. The effect would be much the same as a Dementor's Kiss."
Poppy shuddered. "We can't let that happen!"
Dumbledore nodded fiercely. "Although the Order cannot be broken until Fawkes, who is the guardian, chooses, we can find a way to shield Harry from Voldemort." His eyes took on an almost mad light. "And perhaps we can find a way to retaliate."
Both were interrupted by a faint groan from Harry. The light that had been in Dumbledore's eyes only a second before, now vanished and he was by Harry's side in seconds. Poppy's eyes widened.
"Albus, what's happening? He's burning up!"
Dumbledore was speechless. Harry was reeling on the bed, sweat pouring down his temples. His eyes rolled madly and his breaths came in ragged gasps. Dumbledore could see that Harry was fighting some sort of an internal struggle.
Abruptly, the movement ceased. Harry's body slumped and fell down back onto the bed. He took a shuddering breath, and then another.
Both Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey sighed with immense relief as the vivid emerald eyes finally flickered painfully open.
* * *
Hundreds of miles away, in a tiny dark cell an agonised scream broke the silence of the night. The screams continued for several hours…
A/N MWAA HAHAHAHA! ANOTHER CLIFFIE! Hey, I'm getting good at this.
I hope the explanation of the Order of the Phoenix was good enough but if it wasn't let me know and I'll try to make it better. Promise (but you'll have to tell me what you didn't understand!) Any questions are welcome. ^_^
So, hopefully, you're starting to get the prediction now (if not I suggest you read the prediction again and then read Padfoot's bits in this chapter *very* carefully).
You can flame me now if you want (although please give a reason). You didn't think I'd let Harry die did you? Well, maybe I will later on in a chapter I'm naming "Prongs". And he's not in a very good state at the moment anyway.
And any Snape fans will soon see another appearance of their fave Potions master! Yay! (gooo Snape!!!!!!)
And what's going to happen to Sirius? He's in a rather sticky situation!
Thank you for reading and please REVIEW (I really really like them)
Come back every now and then if you liked it to see when I update. I promise I'll never keep you waiting that long:-)
Luv Baasheep
Xx
P.S Please review! A few mentions to other people here and there wouldn't go amiss either…looks up at the ceiling whistling innocently
Thanx, luv ya!
PPS I'm already thinking of a sequel but only if enough people want it so if you want one you'll have to review and let me know.