Chapter Sixteen: Battle
An hour had passed since Snape had left. In that time, Lupin and Sirius had repeated their attempts to call for Fawkes, to no avail. Then they had taken to searching the house for Kreacher (Sirius threatening all the while to tie the elf to the boiler and flog him), in the hopes that he might elaborate on just why Harry had tried to contact Sirius through the fire.
But their search was half-hearted at best. They quickly realized that even if they did manage to beat a confession out of Kreacher, it was unlikely that Harry had been able to tell the house elf much of anything; from what Snape had told them, it seemed as if Harry had had very little time in the fire at all before Umbridge caught him.
In the end Lupin and Sirius returned to the kitchen, and this time Lupin gladly took up Sirius on an offer of firewhisky. They each downed a glass, and Sirius a second. He was just about to pour himself a third when the kitchen door burst open.
It was Tonks, followed by Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mad-Eye Moody.
"Tonks," said Lupin, surprised. "What are you--"
"We got a message from Snape," she said quickly. "About Harry, getting caught by Umbridge."
"Damn kid shoulda known better," Moody grumbled.
"Be that as it may," said Kingsley, a bit loudly, "we thought we should come over right away, in case Dumbledore contacts us."
"We tried to get in touch with him, but his bird didn't respond," said Lupin at once.
"That's odd," said Tonks. "Surely Dumbledore knows to make himself available."
"Unless he's helping Hagrid with something," suggested Kingsley. "Dumbledore might have a good reason for not being in contact."
"So what, we just wait?" said Sirius bitterly. "Again?"
Nobody had anything to say to this. They were all feeling the same frustration. The desire to do SOMETHING, but the inability to know just what course of action to take. Without some idea of what was happening at the school, it was impossible to know just how to protect Harry and his friends.
"Who knows what that bat is doing to him," said Sirius angrily.
"He hasn't shown up on the doorstep yet," said Moody gruffly. "We can take that as a good sign."
"Oh, sure," said Sirius, rolling his eyes. "He might be locked in the dungeons at the school, getting beat up by security trolls, but at least he hasn't been expelled."
"Black!"
The sound of a sixth voice in the room caused everyone to whirl round. Severus Snape had joined them in the kitchen, so quietly that nobody had even noticed him until he'd spoken.
"You again," Sirius growled. "What the hell do you want? Come to gloat about seeing Harry punished again?"
"Shut up," said Snape venomously, and he turned his attention to Tonks, Kingsley, Moody and Lupin.
"It's Potter," he said, his voice more agitated than usual. "He's not back yet."
"Not back from where?" Lupin asked, the familiar knot in his stomach starting up again.
"He went with Umbridge and the Granger girl into the Forest," said Snape.
"And you didn't try to stop them?" Sirius snapped.
"I wasn't aware they'd left the castle until I heard it from Draco Malfoy," Snape hissed. "Some Slytherin students caught Potter's friends trying to help him get into her fireplace and they brought them all back to her office. Umbridge took Granger and Potter into the forest, and Potter's other friends jinxed the Slytherins and got away and went into the forest as well."
"And you didn't go after them?" Lupin asked, struggling not to sound accusatory.
"Not at first," Snape snapped. "I figured whatever was happening, it would happen close to the grounds, and I could get to Potter afterward and tell him Black was safe. But they didn't come back out of the forest."
"So Harry still thinks--"
"That the Dark Lord has captured Black," said Snape. "And is holding him at the Department of Mysteries."
Tonks gasped. "You don't think he would--"
"Yeah, he would," said Sirius darkly. "Damn kid!"
"How many besides Potter and Granger?" said Lupin.
"The two Weasleys, Longbottom and Luna Lovegood were in Umbridge's office when I saw them last."
"My god," said Sirius, shaking his head. "They've gone to the bloody Department of Mysteries, haven't they? Voldemort has set a trap for them. For Harry."
"Well, we'll just have to go, too," said Tonks firmly. "Intercept them."
"What are we waiting for, then?" said Sirius, pulling his wand from his robes.
"Sirius--" Lupin began.
"You can't go anywhere," said Snape coldly. "Dumbledore wants you to stay here."
"I'm not staying here and letting my godson face Voldemort without me," Sirius said through clenched teeth, advancing slowly on Snape.
"You'll stay here and tell Dumbledore what's happened--" Snape began, but Sirius closed the distance and grabbed Snape roughly by the collar of his robes.
"Sirius--" Lupin said again.
"I'm going to get Harry," said Sirius. "And if you know what's good for you, you won't stand in my way, Snivellus."
Snape glared at Sirius with undisguised loathing. For a long, silent moment the two men glowered at each other, as though participating in a staring contest. It was Snape who broke contact.
"It's your funeral, Black," Snape said in a low voice. "I'll get a message to Dumbledore." And he swept out of the kitchen, his black robes billowing behind him.
Sirius ran a hand through his hair and then bellowed out a single word.
"KREACHER!"
Lupin wasn't sure what good it would do calling for the house elf now; hadn't he gone up into the attic?
But amazingly, in the next moment Lupin heard slow, shuffling footsteps descend the stairs, and Kreacher the house elf appeared in the doorway.
"Master called," said Kreacher bowing low. For once, he did not mutter.
"I have an occupation for you," said Sirius slowly. "Stay by the fire and wait for Albus Dumbledore, d'you hear? Tell Dumbledore where I've gone. Can you do that?"
"Kreacher obeys Master," said Kreacher, bowing low again. "Kreacher obeys." The house elf began to chuckle softly to himself. Sirius looked as though he wanted to kick Kreacher, but instead pursed his lips and turned to Lupin.
"Well?" he said expectantly.
Lupin glanced at the others and then spoke. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Sirius shouldn't be coming. After so many months stuck inside, doing nothing, he might do something reckless. But Lupin knew nothing would stop Sirius from going to rescue his godson.
"Let's go," he said. The five of them raised their wands, and with a loud CRACK that shook the whole kitchen, they disappeared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CRACK! Lupin blinked and found himself in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Several more cracks indicated the arrival of Tonks, Kingsley, Moody and Sirius.
"Let's move," said Tonks, and they started toward the lift. Tonks pressed the call button and a moment later the lift clanked in front of them, the doors sliding open. They hurried inside and Lupin pressed the button for the ninth floor. With a jolt, the lift began to clatter upward as it ascended to the ninth floor.
Lupin glanced at Tonks, whose eyes were bright with fear and anticipation. He felt a rush of anxiety swirl in his stomach, and suddenly he didn't want her here. She should have stayed behind, it was too dangerous...
She glanced at him again and now her expression was determined, her jaw set.
Relax, Remus, he told himself. She's an Auror, she'd hate you if you dared suggest this was too dangerous for her. But in the dark of the lift he reached for her hand and squeezed it. She gave him the briefest of smiles as the elegant female voice came over the loudspeaker and said "The Department of Mysteries."
The grilles opened and Lupin stepped out first. At once he heard it-- noises. Shouts. A crash.
"They're in it," said Lupin grimly, as the others filed out of the lift. "Come on." They started down the dark corridor and came to the door. The door Lupin knew Harry had been dreaming about for months. The door he had already passed through, accompanied by his friends.
Lupin turned to Sirius. A muscle twitched in the other man's jaw as his eyes met Lupin's.
"We'll get him out," said Lupin.
Sirius only nodded, and together, the five of them passed through the door into the corridor, wands out, ready for battle. Lupin reached for Tonks's hand again and found it, clutched it.
"Split up," said Kingsley. "Sirius, you and Lupin take that door. Tonks, Moody and me will take this one."
Lupin nodded, reluctantly letting go of Tonks's hand, and they moved to the right to the door Kingsley had indicated.
The noises grew closer and suddenly Lupin heard it. A loud, shrieking laugh that sounded very familiar, and it was coming from behind the door to the Death Chamber.
Sirius heard it, too, along with everyone else, and they ran forward to the door of the Death Chamber, in time to hear Bellatrix Lestrange scream, "Now, Potter, either give us the prophecy, or watch your little friend die the hard way!"
This was followed by silence, footsteps. It was now or never.
Lupin glanced at the others and nodded. "Now!" he hissed.
Tonks and Lupin aimed their wands at their doors and both shouted "Alohomora!"
The doors burst open. Lupin and Sirius exchanged one more glance.
"If something happens to me," said Sirius, "look after Harry."
Before Lupin could say a word, Sirius leapt through the door and into the fray.
An hour had passed since Snape had left. In that time, Lupin and Sirius had repeated their attempts to call for Fawkes, to no avail. Then they had taken to searching the house for Kreacher (Sirius threatening all the while to tie the elf to the boiler and flog him), in the hopes that he might elaborate on just why Harry had tried to contact Sirius through the fire.
But their search was half-hearted at best. They quickly realized that even if they did manage to beat a confession out of Kreacher, it was unlikely that Harry had been able to tell the house elf much of anything; from what Snape had told them, it seemed as if Harry had had very little time in the fire at all before Umbridge caught him.
In the end Lupin and Sirius returned to the kitchen, and this time Lupin gladly took up Sirius on an offer of firewhisky. They each downed a glass, and Sirius a second. He was just about to pour himself a third when the kitchen door burst open.
It was Tonks, followed by Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mad-Eye Moody.
"Tonks," said Lupin, surprised. "What are you--"
"We got a message from Snape," she said quickly. "About Harry, getting caught by Umbridge."
"Damn kid shoulda known better," Moody grumbled.
"Be that as it may," said Kingsley, a bit loudly, "we thought we should come over right away, in case Dumbledore contacts us."
"We tried to get in touch with him, but his bird didn't respond," said Lupin at once.
"That's odd," said Tonks. "Surely Dumbledore knows to make himself available."
"Unless he's helping Hagrid with something," suggested Kingsley. "Dumbledore might have a good reason for not being in contact."
"So what, we just wait?" said Sirius bitterly. "Again?"
Nobody had anything to say to this. They were all feeling the same frustration. The desire to do SOMETHING, but the inability to know just what course of action to take. Without some idea of what was happening at the school, it was impossible to know just how to protect Harry and his friends.
"Who knows what that bat is doing to him," said Sirius angrily.
"He hasn't shown up on the doorstep yet," said Moody gruffly. "We can take that as a good sign."
"Oh, sure," said Sirius, rolling his eyes. "He might be locked in the dungeons at the school, getting beat up by security trolls, but at least he hasn't been expelled."
"Black!"
The sound of a sixth voice in the room caused everyone to whirl round. Severus Snape had joined them in the kitchen, so quietly that nobody had even noticed him until he'd spoken.
"You again," Sirius growled. "What the hell do you want? Come to gloat about seeing Harry punished again?"
"Shut up," said Snape venomously, and he turned his attention to Tonks, Kingsley, Moody and Lupin.
"It's Potter," he said, his voice more agitated than usual. "He's not back yet."
"Not back from where?" Lupin asked, the familiar knot in his stomach starting up again.
"He went with Umbridge and the Granger girl into the Forest," said Snape.
"And you didn't try to stop them?" Sirius snapped.
"I wasn't aware they'd left the castle until I heard it from Draco Malfoy," Snape hissed. "Some Slytherin students caught Potter's friends trying to help him get into her fireplace and they brought them all back to her office. Umbridge took Granger and Potter into the forest, and Potter's other friends jinxed the Slytherins and got away and went into the forest as well."
"And you didn't go after them?" Lupin asked, struggling not to sound accusatory.
"Not at first," Snape snapped. "I figured whatever was happening, it would happen close to the grounds, and I could get to Potter afterward and tell him Black was safe. But they didn't come back out of the forest."
"So Harry still thinks--"
"That the Dark Lord has captured Black," said Snape. "And is holding him at the Department of Mysteries."
Tonks gasped. "You don't think he would--"
"Yeah, he would," said Sirius darkly. "Damn kid!"
"How many besides Potter and Granger?" said Lupin.
"The two Weasleys, Longbottom and Luna Lovegood were in Umbridge's office when I saw them last."
"My god," said Sirius, shaking his head. "They've gone to the bloody Department of Mysteries, haven't they? Voldemort has set a trap for them. For Harry."
"Well, we'll just have to go, too," said Tonks firmly. "Intercept them."
"What are we waiting for, then?" said Sirius, pulling his wand from his robes.
"Sirius--" Lupin began.
"You can't go anywhere," said Snape coldly. "Dumbledore wants you to stay here."
"I'm not staying here and letting my godson face Voldemort without me," Sirius said through clenched teeth, advancing slowly on Snape.
"You'll stay here and tell Dumbledore what's happened--" Snape began, but Sirius closed the distance and grabbed Snape roughly by the collar of his robes.
"Sirius--" Lupin said again.
"I'm going to get Harry," said Sirius. "And if you know what's good for you, you won't stand in my way, Snivellus."
Snape glared at Sirius with undisguised loathing. For a long, silent moment the two men glowered at each other, as though participating in a staring contest. It was Snape who broke contact.
"It's your funeral, Black," Snape said in a low voice. "I'll get a message to Dumbledore." And he swept out of the kitchen, his black robes billowing behind him.
Sirius ran a hand through his hair and then bellowed out a single word.
"KREACHER!"
Lupin wasn't sure what good it would do calling for the house elf now; hadn't he gone up into the attic?
But amazingly, in the next moment Lupin heard slow, shuffling footsteps descend the stairs, and Kreacher the house elf appeared in the doorway.
"Master called," said Kreacher bowing low. For once, he did not mutter.
"I have an occupation for you," said Sirius slowly. "Stay by the fire and wait for Albus Dumbledore, d'you hear? Tell Dumbledore where I've gone. Can you do that?"
"Kreacher obeys Master," said Kreacher, bowing low again. "Kreacher obeys." The house elf began to chuckle softly to himself. Sirius looked as though he wanted to kick Kreacher, but instead pursed his lips and turned to Lupin.
"Well?" he said expectantly.
Lupin glanced at the others and then spoke. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Sirius shouldn't be coming. After so many months stuck inside, doing nothing, he might do something reckless. But Lupin knew nothing would stop Sirius from going to rescue his godson.
"Let's go," he said. The five of them raised their wands, and with a loud CRACK that shook the whole kitchen, they disappeared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CRACK! Lupin blinked and found himself in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Several more cracks indicated the arrival of Tonks, Kingsley, Moody and Sirius.
"Let's move," said Tonks, and they started toward the lift. Tonks pressed the call button and a moment later the lift clanked in front of them, the doors sliding open. They hurried inside and Lupin pressed the button for the ninth floor. With a jolt, the lift began to clatter upward as it ascended to the ninth floor.
Lupin glanced at Tonks, whose eyes were bright with fear and anticipation. He felt a rush of anxiety swirl in his stomach, and suddenly he didn't want her here. She should have stayed behind, it was too dangerous...
She glanced at him again and now her expression was determined, her jaw set.
Relax, Remus, he told himself. She's an Auror, she'd hate you if you dared suggest this was too dangerous for her. But in the dark of the lift he reached for her hand and squeezed it. She gave him the briefest of smiles as the elegant female voice came over the loudspeaker and said "The Department of Mysteries."
The grilles opened and Lupin stepped out first. At once he heard it-- noises. Shouts. A crash.
"They're in it," said Lupin grimly, as the others filed out of the lift. "Come on." They started down the dark corridor and came to the door. The door Lupin knew Harry had been dreaming about for months. The door he had already passed through, accompanied by his friends.
Lupin turned to Sirius. A muscle twitched in the other man's jaw as his eyes met Lupin's.
"We'll get him out," said Lupin.
Sirius only nodded, and together, the five of them passed through the door into the corridor, wands out, ready for battle. Lupin reached for Tonks's hand again and found it, clutched it.
"Split up," said Kingsley. "Sirius, you and Lupin take that door. Tonks, Moody and me will take this one."
Lupin nodded, reluctantly letting go of Tonks's hand, and they moved to the right to the door Kingsley had indicated.
The noises grew closer and suddenly Lupin heard it. A loud, shrieking laugh that sounded very familiar, and it was coming from behind the door to the Death Chamber.
Sirius heard it, too, along with everyone else, and they ran forward to the door of the Death Chamber, in time to hear Bellatrix Lestrange scream, "Now, Potter, either give us the prophecy, or watch your little friend die the hard way!"
This was followed by silence, footsteps. It was now or never.
Lupin glanced at the others and nodded. "Now!" he hissed.
Tonks and Lupin aimed their wands at their doors and both shouted "Alohomora!"
The doors burst open. Lupin and Sirius exchanged one more glance.
"If something happens to me," said Sirius, "look after Harry."
Before Lupin could say a word, Sirius leapt through the door and into the fray.