Arch of Death - Chapter Five
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Sorry about being such a pill about updating, guys. I had to work all weekend--from about seven in the morning to seven at night, and when I came home both nights I was too tired to do anything. And yesterday, I ended up having surgery and was too strung out on painkillers to write. So, here we go--new chapter. Sorry about taking so long. As for the Remus/Sirius slash bit, let me clarify something. Harry's more or less oblivious at this moment, and he will be for a very long time. You will NOT see any 'action' between the two, nor will there be any mention of it. It's something I feel we'll see in canon, but I'm not going to turn this into any kind of porn story whatsoever. Harry's straight, don't worry about that, and as much as I love slash, Remus and Sirius will be placed on a backburner--a very far away backburner. You won't be seeing it for a very long time. I'm in the process of working on a slash story that deals with Sirius running away, but that's--literally--a whole nother story.
Aimée
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Harry finally fell asleep a few hours past midnight, his head buzzing with the information he had been given and hadn't had the chance to process. His dreams were the same as they had been before Remus had taken him from the Dursley's: he saw—no, he felt Sirius, and he felt his fear, his anger, his desperation to escape. Only now, Harry knew, these weren't just dreams; Sirius was alive.
Harry woke up with the rising sun, drenched in a cold sweat and trembling from head to foot. The emotional turmoil his dreams were putting his mind through was more than he thought he could handle. He felt he had come to grips with the loss of his godfather; now he was forced to recognize that all of his grieving had been for nothing. While he in no way felt angered or cheated, he still felt as if it had all been quite sudden—too sudden for his brain to be able to process. He yearned to see his godfather alive once more, but for now all he could do was wait.
He lay in bed for a good half-hour before he heard a soft knocking on his door. He grumbled an answer, sure it was too low for anyone to hear, but a moment later the serpent-shaped doorknob turned and the door swung open, revealing Remus Lupin standing there.
"Good morning, Harry," said Remus with a tight smile. "Sleep well?"
For a brief moment, Harry considered telling him what he had heard last night, alone in the kitchens with Snape, and what had been tumbling within his mind while he slept. He took one good look at the man's tired and gray face, however, and immediately decided against it.
"Better than I ever have at the Dursley's," answered Harry untruthfully, knowing such an answer would satisfy Remus. "And you?"
Harry watched as Remus flinched slightly, his amber eyes closing and his face paling slightly.
"Not so well, I'm afraid," he admitted, taking a step forward and closing the door. "Harry—are you sure you're all right with this? Going in front of the Ministry and taking Veritaserum—they could ask you anything."
"I know," said Harry firmly, willing the blush that was creeping up onto his cheeks to go away as he thought of Cho and many other thoughts he would have rather kept to himself. "I want Sirius back, Professor, and so do you. I don't care what I have to tell them in the process; even if I'm thrown into Azkaban next, it'll be worth it as long as Sirius is freed."
Remus stared at Harry for what felt like an eternity, until his tired face broke out into a grin. "Thank you," he said softly. "Sirius would have loved to hear you say that."
"He'll be able to," said Harry resolutely. "As soon as we get him out of there."
Two days past filled with nothing but frantic meetings coupled with empty time spent wandering the manor. Harry spent more and more time with Remus, finding he was the only member of the Order who was willing to spend great amounts of time with Harry without having to run off and do errands for Dumbledore. The Headmaster sensed this, Harry felt, and allowed Remus to stay with Harry as a guardian of sorts while the other members of the Order were away.
Finally, the morning of the interrogation—for that truly was the only word to describe it—arrived. Instead of the nervous anticipation Harry had worked himself up to expect, he found himself strangely calm and controlled while others buzzed nervously around the breakfast table.
"Aren't you even the slightest bit—well—?" asked Nymphadora Tonks, spooning her grapefruit violently.
"No," answered Harry with a shrug.
"All right, who slipped a calming potion into Potter's drink last night?" grumbled Mad-Eye Moody, present for the first time since their last meeting. It seemed to Harry as if more than the usual amount of members were present that morning; Kingsley Shacklebolt sat to the right of Tonks, Lupin to the left of Harry, Mad-Eye to the right, another half-dozen or so odd members with whom Harry wasn't well acquainted, and to many of the Order's surprise, Severus Snape sat in the seat next to Remus, refusing to eat and not saying a word.
Slowly, every pair of eyes—save Harry's—turned toward the sallow-skinned Potions professor, who merely stared right back with the venom of a snake.
Before anyone could say a word, Albus Dumbledore came waltzing into the room, his eyes twinkling as he observed the scene set before him. It had been a long time since Harry had seen Dumbledore this content; these days, the Headmaster seemed to be every one of his one-hundred and fifty years, a fact Harry tried very hard to ignore.
"Good morning," said Dumbledore cheerfully, sitting down at the head of the table. "Well, it looks as if a surprising number of you have turned up this morning—no doubt to wish Harry here well before we leave?"
A murmur echoed throughout the dozen or so members who sat around the table, many of the eyes that had been staring at Snape now focused on Harry.
"Excellent," praised Dumbledore, his blue eyes looking at every member in turn. "Has Arthur by any chance made it here this morning?"
"No," answered Remus quietly. "He, Molly, and the children were unable to leave Romania in time to make it today."
"Is that so?" asked Dumbledore, calmly pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice. "Such a shame—I'm sure Harry would have enjoyed seeing them, wouldn't you have, Harry?"
Harry nodded silently, wondering exactly what it was the Weasleys were doing in Romania. They were with Charlie, no doubt, but he was curious as to why at least Ron couldn't have stayed behind to keep him company.
Dumbledore took a quick glance at the grandfather clock that stood in the corner of the room, one of many spread throughout Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. "Well, it's best we leave now, Harry. We wouldn't want to miss our appointment, now, would we?"
With that, Harry stood up, abandoning his breakfast without a word. To his surprise, both Remus and Snape stood up with him, Remus wearing an expression of resolve and Snape wearing one of indifference. While Harry was sure Snape's was meticulously planned, he was surprised at the determination Remus was showing.
"Ah, Severus, Remus—of course, of course," murmured Dumbledore as he too stood. The four of them silently made their way out of the kitchen and up the flight of stairs that led into the foyer, where the portrait of Sirius' mother still hung, snoring softly.
"Severus, Remus, you and I will be Apparating, of course," said the Headmaster with a nod toward each. "Harry, I have a portkey set up for you."
Dumbledore produced the same purple marble Remus had used only days before, and he held it out to Harry with a small smile. "Here, boy—take it. We shall meet you there."
With that, Harry took the small marble in his hands, and as the three Apparated with a small pop, he felt the unpleasant jerking sensation somewhere behind his naval. He felt himself spinning and flying through the air, and a moment later, he landed onto a hard wooden surface with a thud.
He opened his eyes carefully as he stood up, and a moment later he heard another set of three small pops, signaling the others had indeed met him here.
As he looking around him at the many gilded fireplaces and the marble fountain, he realized where he was.
The Ministry of Magic.
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Sorry about being such a pill about updating, guys. I had to work all weekend--from about seven in the morning to seven at night, and when I came home both nights I was too tired to do anything. And yesterday, I ended up having surgery and was too strung out on painkillers to write. So, here we go--new chapter. Sorry about taking so long. As for the Remus/Sirius slash bit, let me clarify something. Harry's more or less oblivious at this moment, and he will be for a very long time. You will NOT see any 'action' between the two, nor will there be any mention of it. It's something I feel we'll see in canon, but I'm not going to turn this into any kind of porn story whatsoever. Harry's straight, don't worry about that, and as much as I love slash, Remus and Sirius will be placed on a backburner--a very far away backburner. You won't be seeing it for a very long time. I'm in the process of working on a slash story that deals with Sirius running away, but that's--literally--a whole nother story.
Aimée
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Harry finally fell asleep a few hours past midnight, his head buzzing with the information he had been given and hadn't had the chance to process. His dreams were the same as they had been before Remus had taken him from the Dursley's: he saw—no, he felt Sirius, and he felt his fear, his anger, his desperation to escape. Only now, Harry knew, these weren't just dreams; Sirius was alive.
Harry woke up with the rising sun, drenched in a cold sweat and trembling from head to foot. The emotional turmoil his dreams were putting his mind through was more than he thought he could handle. He felt he had come to grips with the loss of his godfather; now he was forced to recognize that all of his grieving had been for nothing. While he in no way felt angered or cheated, he still felt as if it had all been quite sudden—too sudden for his brain to be able to process. He yearned to see his godfather alive once more, but for now all he could do was wait.
He lay in bed for a good half-hour before he heard a soft knocking on his door. He grumbled an answer, sure it was too low for anyone to hear, but a moment later the serpent-shaped doorknob turned and the door swung open, revealing Remus Lupin standing there.
"Good morning, Harry," said Remus with a tight smile. "Sleep well?"
For a brief moment, Harry considered telling him what he had heard last night, alone in the kitchens with Snape, and what had been tumbling within his mind while he slept. He took one good look at the man's tired and gray face, however, and immediately decided against it.
"Better than I ever have at the Dursley's," answered Harry untruthfully, knowing such an answer would satisfy Remus. "And you?"
Harry watched as Remus flinched slightly, his amber eyes closing and his face paling slightly.
"Not so well, I'm afraid," he admitted, taking a step forward and closing the door. "Harry—are you sure you're all right with this? Going in front of the Ministry and taking Veritaserum—they could ask you anything."
"I know," said Harry firmly, willing the blush that was creeping up onto his cheeks to go away as he thought of Cho and many other thoughts he would have rather kept to himself. "I want Sirius back, Professor, and so do you. I don't care what I have to tell them in the process; even if I'm thrown into Azkaban next, it'll be worth it as long as Sirius is freed."
Remus stared at Harry for what felt like an eternity, until his tired face broke out into a grin. "Thank you," he said softly. "Sirius would have loved to hear you say that."
"He'll be able to," said Harry resolutely. "As soon as we get him out of there."
Two days past filled with nothing but frantic meetings coupled with empty time spent wandering the manor. Harry spent more and more time with Remus, finding he was the only member of the Order who was willing to spend great amounts of time with Harry without having to run off and do errands for Dumbledore. The Headmaster sensed this, Harry felt, and allowed Remus to stay with Harry as a guardian of sorts while the other members of the Order were away.
Finally, the morning of the interrogation—for that truly was the only word to describe it—arrived. Instead of the nervous anticipation Harry had worked himself up to expect, he found himself strangely calm and controlled while others buzzed nervously around the breakfast table.
"Aren't you even the slightest bit—well—?" asked Nymphadora Tonks, spooning her grapefruit violently.
"No," answered Harry with a shrug.
"All right, who slipped a calming potion into Potter's drink last night?" grumbled Mad-Eye Moody, present for the first time since their last meeting. It seemed to Harry as if more than the usual amount of members were present that morning; Kingsley Shacklebolt sat to the right of Tonks, Lupin to the left of Harry, Mad-Eye to the right, another half-dozen or so odd members with whom Harry wasn't well acquainted, and to many of the Order's surprise, Severus Snape sat in the seat next to Remus, refusing to eat and not saying a word.
Slowly, every pair of eyes—save Harry's—turned toward the sallow-skinned Potions professor, who merely stared right back with the venom of a snake.
Before anyone could say a word, Albus Dumbledore came waltzing into the room, his eyes twinkling as he observed the scene set before him. It had been a long time since Harry had seen Dumbledore this content; these days, the Headmaster seemed to be every one of his one-hundred and fifty years, a fact Harry tried very hard to ignore.
"Good morning," said Dumbledore cheerfully, sitting down at the head of the table. "Well, it looks as if a surprising number of you have turned up this morning—no doubt to wish Harry here well before we leave?"
A murmur echoed throughout the dozen or so members who sat around the table, many of the eyes that had been staring at Snape now focused on Harry.
"Excellent," praised Dumbledore, his blue eyes looking at every member in turn. "Has Arthur by any chance made it here this morning?"
"No," answered Remus quietly. "He, Molly, and the children were unable to leave Romania in time to make it today."
"Is that so?" asked Dumbledore, calmly pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice. "Such a shame—I'm sure Harry would have enjoyed seeing them, wouldn't you have, Harry?"
Harry nodded silently, wondering exactly what it was the Weasleys were doing in Romania. They were with Charlie, no doubt, but he was curious as to why at least Ron couldn't have stayed behind to keep him company.
Dumbledore took a quick glance at the grandfather clock that stood in the corner of the room, one of many spread throughout Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. "Well, it's best we leave now, Harry. We wouldn't want to miss our appointment, now, would we?"
With that, Harry stood up, abandoning his breakfast without a word. To his surprise, both Remus and Snape stood up with him, Remus wearing an expression of resolve and Snape wearing one of indifference. While Harry was sure Snape's was meticulously planned, he was surprised at the determination Remus was showing.
"Ah, Severus, Remus—of course, of course," murmured Dumbledore as he too stood. The four of them silently made their way out of the kitchen and up the flight of stairs that led into the foyer, where the portrait of Sirius' mother still hung, snoring softly.
"Severus, Remus, you and I will be Apparating, of course," said the Headmaster with a nod toward each. "Harry, I have a portkey set up for you."
Dumbledore produced the same purple marble Remus had used only days before, and he held it out to Harry with a small smile. "Here, boy—take it. We shall meet you there."
With that, Harry took the small marble in his hands, and as the three Apparated with a small pop, he felt the unpleasant jerking sensation somewhere behind his naval. He felt himself spinning and flying through the air, and a moment later, he landed onto a hard wooden surface with a thud.
He opened his eyes carefully as he stood up, and a moment later he heard another set of three small pops, signaling the others had indeed met him here.
As he looking around him at the many gilded fireplaces and the marble fountain, he realized where he was.
The Ministry of Magic.