A/N – Okies, here is Chapter 27… I'll try and make my chapters longer in future, I'm afraid that you'll have to wait a while for the next one coz I'll be without my computer for at least 5 days… Sorry!!! Thanks again for reviewing… I know I always say it, but I really appreciate it… *grins* I hope you guys understand the whole timeframe of all of this… Mainly we're catching up with goings-on at Hogwarts… Enjoy!
Dumbledore's
face paled as everyone in the room looked at him in expectation.
Without
a word Dumbledore strode off to the Hospital Wing almost at a run, he crashed
through the door and his eyes flew straight to Arabella Figg. She was sitting on one of the beds shaking
uncontrollably.
"He's…
In pain, cruciatus I think, Voldemort must be using Harry's own wand. It's terrible Albus! And I can't help him." Cried Arabella bursting into tears.
Dumbledore
sat down heavily.
"We
must try and contact Severus. He's our
only link to Voldemort."
"Why
don't you send that Inigma woman, she works for Fudge doesn't she?" Said Poppy trying to be helpful.
"Perhaps,
but I'm afraid that Severus will find it hard to contact us." Said Albus shaking his head sadly.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Dawn
Inigma had been completely shocked as Dumbledore had relayed the whole story to
her. She noticed the deepening lines on
the headmaster's face and the fear in his eyes. It unnerved her. She
agreed to try and find Snape.
I'll
take some strengthening potion with me, and perhaps some of Harry's Scutum
draught. I never expected this when I
agreed to do this job. I can't believe
what an idiot Fudge is… What an idiot I was.
She
went to the ministry and explained that she had been sent to join the Aurors
that were fighting the Death Eaters. She was sent immediately to the latest battle scene. She was careful to leave her red hood of her
cloak down so that Snape would recognise her… If he was even here.
Dawn
was shocked and almost screamed when pulled away from behind, when she turned
to see a death Eater cloak she almost cursed him immediately before he hastily
pulled back his hood and revealed himself as Severus Snape.
"Harry
is alive!" He grunted
"We
know. Take these for him." Whispered Dawn.
"I
can't tell you where he is. Even Death
Eaters aren't told where we are when we apparate there."
"That's
okay. Keep it up Severus, and good
luck." Said Inigma with a small smile.
"Goodbye
Dawn." Said Severus before snatching
the vials and retreating into the woods.
~~~*~~~*~~~
It
had been an anxious few hours, Arabella had been appalled by the number of
times Harry was being cursed, Dumbledore looked more and more worried and
Minerva McGonagall was trying desperately to explain everything to Sirius who
just could not accept that what he'd seen was fake.
"I
saw him die." Said Sirius stubbornly,
"This
isn't Harry." Insisted McGonagall once
again.
"It's
been hours, polyjuice potion doesn't last this long." Argued Sirius.
"Um,
excuse me, but, if they used Harry's blood to make it…" Hermione put in
nervously.
She
had been trying to calm Ron and Neville who looked as though they were ready to
throw themselves into the lake if it would help Harry.
"Yes. Miss Granger, as usual is right. There are ways…"
"So…
If this isn't Harry…" Said Sirius slowly, finally allowing the cold arm to slip
from his grasp. "Then he's still out
there… And he's alone!"
"He
is still out there, but he's not alone… Severus Snape…"
"That
slimy git! What use is he! He's probably too busy celebrating…"
"Really
Sirius! He's helping Harry I'm
sure! Now calm down and let poppy heal
your head, and your wrists, look! They've been rubbed raw." Said
Minerva crossly.
Sirius
winced slightly and gave in.
"Alright
then. But I need to talk to Dumbledore
as soon as possible." Said Sirius
frowning.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Dawn
Inigma returned looking exhausted but pleased.
"I
found him, you were right. Harry is
alive. Gave him the Scutum draught and
a strengthening potion. Hope it
helps." She gasped before collapsing in
a seat next to Arabella.
"Thankyou
Dawn, Thankyou for your help." Said
Dumbledore wearily.
"I
don't know how he's still fighting it! That's got to be the seventh time he's suffered the cruciatus!" Whimpered Arabella from the other side of
the room.
Dumbledore
shook his head gravely,
"Sometimes
being a strong wizard just means that you have to suffer more. And Harry's the strongest I know." He said clasping his hands together tightly.
Dawn
Inigma looked at the two sad faces and felt as though she was intruding on
something she could never hope to understand. She didn't even know Harry that well, and these two had been fighting
for him since before he was born!
She
left the room quietly, contemplating all that she had learned in the last two
days.
She
was walking down the corridor and bumped into Minerva McGonagall who was
leading a much-calmed Sirius Black towards the headmaster's office.
It
was the first time that Dawn Inigma had seen Sirius, she was relieved that
Dumbledore had been sharp enough to explain to her about Sirius' innocence,
still the sight of the poor man had caused her heart to skip a beat, she'd been
involved in tracking him for Fudge for a whole year!
She
apologised for knocking into Minerva and glanced briefly at Sirius who looked
worried sick for his godson... More
people who cared for Harry.
She
picked up her hat, which had fallen to the floor and carried on down the
corridor, it was her job to prepare the school for the announcement that Harry
Potter had been killed, and she was not looking forward to it. She first had to visit the Gryffindors'
Common Room. Everyone except Harry's
closest friends would have their memories modified so that they would forget
what they had witnessed and believe the announcement. Dawn had a lot of experience with memory charms… It seemed Fudge
was overly keen on them.
As
she entered a hush fell on the students who had been gossiping madly about the
recent goings-on, Dawn called out Ron, Hermione and Neville and told them to
wait outside. After taking a quick
role-call she found that only Fred and George Weasley were absent, she clicked
her tongue impatiently, and decided that they would have to be dealt with
later. She performed the memory charm
on the remaining Gryffindors who went back to idle gossip but which now seemed
more relaxed and carefree.
Then
she went outside, to talk to Harry's closest friends.
She
was only slightly surprised to see Fred and George waiting there with them
looking a little sheepish and hastily trying to hide the food that they had
scavenged.
"What's
going on Professor? There's been lot's
of rumours about Harry…" Said Fred
glancing at Ron, Neville and Hermione.
"They
aren't true are they?" Asked George
looking only slightly worried.
"I
think you'd better forget all those rumours you've heard and listen to
me." Said Dawn frowning.
"It
seems that you two are determined to know the truth, well, these three here
will be able to inform you. But first I
must reveal that the rest of the school including every other member of the
Gryffindor house will believe that Harry has died. We need to make it look like we've fallen to Voldemort's
bluff. You five will know the truth,
but you must pretend that you also believe him dead. Do I make myself clear?"
The
five students looked at each other and nodded.
"Is
there anything we can do to help professor?" Asked Neville, his desperate eyes pleading with her.
"I'm
afraid not, at this moment we don't even know where Voldemort is. But Dumbledore is on the case, and if anyone
can help Harry it's him. Not you. The best thing you can do is to keep
safe." Said Dawn apologetically
avoiding the angry looks of frustration she received.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Arabella
had been chewing her nails anxiously. Voldemort's torture seemed to have ceased, for the time being
anyway. There had been a while where
she hadn't sensed any pain from Harry. She was worried. She had the
feeling that something ominous was about to transpire.
Dumbledore
also looked nervous, he was gripping his chair arms tightly and his mouth was
firmly set. When they had been joined
by Minerva and Sirius Dumbledore had expected a torrent of questions from
Harry's godfather. But Sirius had
entered the room, taken one look at Dumbledore's face and sat down nervously
unwilling to talk.
Now
the four of them were waiting. Waiting
for Voldemort's next move. So far his
only flaw had been that they knew Harry was alive. But even this did little to help them… they didn't know where he
was. And the one person who could have
helped with that was trapped there, along with Harry.
Arabella
was tired, she knew she badly needed sleep, but her senses were alert and her
adrenaline high, and she could feel the mounting apprehension gripping the
room.
Suddenly,
the wait was over. Voldemort had used
the cruciatus again, this time it lasted so long that Arabella was sure Harry
would pass out. But in the end what
happened was worse than that. As she
told the room of anxious listeners…
"He's
slipping away… He's slipping away."
"What
do you mean!" Shouted Sirius
"Don't
tell me he's dying! Please God!"
"He's
not dying, it's what you always feared the most Albus. He's been hit by the spell, he's starting to
forget who he is." Said Arabella in a
tiny voice, gazing with dread at the headmaster's face.
"Anillia
Equanimia." Whispered Albus Dumbledore
with a shudder.
Sirius
was not about to be ignored.
"WHAT
IS ANILLIA EQUANIMIA???" He yelled
frenzied with panic.
"A
spell which destroys the very essence that makes us individuals. A spell, which will allow Voldemort to
control Harry, a spell which could mean the end of hope for civilisation,
unless Harry can fight it." Said
Dumbledore looking piercingly at everyone in the room. He turned away from them all and clenched
his fists in rage.
How
dare he! Tom Riddle had done some
terrible things in his time. But all
that he'd done to Harry Potter was beyond comprehension. And Dumbledore knew with a heavy heart that
he would do anything to stop this from happening, but that there was nothing he
could do. The only person who could
help Harry at that moment, was Severus Snape…
~~~*~~~*~~~
Severus
watched as Lucius Malfoy returned with the limp form of Harry Potter floating
peacefully behind him.
"He's
unconscious?" Asked Snape eyeing Harry
carefully.
"Yes. But I'm sure you can still get some pleasure
out of beating him my friend."
Snape
had to fight hard to suppress a shudder, not only the thought that he might
take pleasure in beating Harry, but the thought that Lucius Malfoy had called
him a friend…
He
sneered as nastily as possible and said
"Of
course."
Once
Lucius had left Snape bent down and checked Harry, he felt how cold his face
was and shivered, placing his own thin cloak over the boy he racked his brain
for anything that he could possibly do to help.
He
could only think about how much he wished that he had Albus Dumbledore's
guidance. He watched Harry
thoughtfully. Harry had proven himself
strong, but how long would he be able to fight the terrible spell that had
struck him so mercilessly?
He
searched his cloak pockets and found nothing, he then turned to Harry's cloak
which, feeling rather guilty, he also searched. He found only a couple of chocolate frogs and some parchment.
Severus
sighed heavily, if only he had contact with everyone at Hogwarts. Then with a jolt he realised that surely
Dumbledore would try and contact him, he'd probably send Dawn Inigma again. He'd have to ask to join the Death Eaters on
their missions and try and get a message to Dumbledore somehow.
He
thought about this a little longer, and eventually decided to write a letter,
he scribbled down as much as he knew on the parchment and sealed it up
quickly. He stuffed it into his death
eater robes before leaving to attempt his dangerous plan.
~~~*~~~*~~~
"My
Lord. The Potter boy is deeply
unconscious, I feel little purpose in guarding him so closely. I ask most humbly to be allowed to make
myself useful in battling the ministry fools into submission."
The
words flowed silkily from Snape's mouth as he knelt at Voldemort's feet.
"You
have been given orders Severus. You
know what they are." Was Voldemort's
harsh reply.
"I
am sure that there are others who would enjoy the task my lord."
Insisted
Snape in desperation.
He
glanced pointedly at Wormtail, who looked up eagerly playing right into Snape's
hands,
"Oh
yes my lord! I, as I know many others,
would relish the opportunity to witness your superiority stamped so firmly over
the boy." Drivelled the small man
sickeningly.
"We
shall see." Said Voldemort watching
Snape with scrutiny.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Okies, well, I hope you guys aren't too mad at me for ending here… I don't mean to be nasty! I just get exhausted and have to end the chapters at certain points… Either that or my sister threatens to boot me off the computer and I am forced to act in haste!
Anyways, I'm going to do a proper Thankyou section, because you all deserve it!!!
Thanks to…
Kelzery – Your constant reviews are always a big boost!
Ady – Your enthusiasm always cheers me up and your praise is valued highly due to your own gift for writing.
Jess (Soul Reaper) – You know I luvs ya girl! I'm really gonna miss you next year ya know! Phone me okay?!
Jess (Jeanne) – You're always really helpful and thoughtful in your comments! Thanks a lot!
Tinabedina – Thanks for always encouraging me.
Rufus – Thanks!
Mimi – I write as fast as I can!!!
Shadow – I'm not promising anything… Anyone could still die…
nagh – Thanks again!
Val – Yeah, but I do like to try and scare you all!
Elsebeth Fishnips – I'm glad to hear you're enjoying this!
Rishi Khiara – Lol, thanks!
Katy713 – My fingers wont type fast enough sometimes!
Kayte – I'll try! I promise!
Lena – Hmmm, I'm sure I could be eviler if I tried… mwuhahaha. Ahem, soz!
vmr – thanks a lot! I'm flattered
Alisha – I always try to add chapters as quickly as I can write them! I understand! Really!
DJ - *blushes* Thanks! I hope you read this then!
starkitty – here it is! hope you liked it!
am – I appreciate every one of those million times!!!! Thanks!
….
Well I hope I haven't missed anyone. I tried to mention everyone whose reviewed the last two chapters so far…
Love you all!!!!
Jona
xxx