The Phoenix & The Curse of Khafre

by lightheart-62442

A legend of an ancient curse is revealed and Voldemort plans to make the most of it for his own good. But how can disaster be averted? Fawkes might have the answer.

The Phoenix and the Curse of Khafre
By "Lightheart _62442"

This is a fanfiction story based on the Harry Potter series of books by
J.K. Rowling. Most characters contained in this fanfiction story were originally created by J.K. Rowling and the author of this fanfiction does not seek credit for any part of that creation. Certain references are made in this story to events which are part of the Harry Potter series and these events should be recognisable to readers of the Harry Potter series. Those events are also creations of J.K. Rowling and no credit is sought by the author of this fanfiction for elements of the story that can be sourced in
the Harry Potter series.

Chapter One

The Woden Under Wold Historical Society had in its treasure chest of maps and facsimile copies of documents only the barest of details of the large estate known as Woden Park. All they knew of the five thousand acres was the high stone walls and the permanently locked black wrought iron gates with gold spikes pointing skywards. Forests around the borders were impenetrable and people had been known to stray into their depths never to return.

It was known that a monastery once stood in the centre, but that had been razed during the 1500s. Then during the 1700s a man who made his money trading oils and fragrances from the Middle East built the walls and planted more forests and had apparently erected a substantial house on the site of the old monastery. But apart from that, the place was a mystery. Nobody received any mail through the local Post Office. Nobody read the electricity meter. There was no telephone connection. Nobody shopped for groceries in the village. The only glimpse of inside was through the wrought iron gates of the immaculately kept gravel driveway and large laurel hedges which swept away around a curve, hiding any other possible view.

So when two young men arrived outside the house and walked past the twenty foot high leadlight windows towards the front door, nobody in the village saw them arrive. There was no evidence of the gates being opened. There were no telltale markings on the gravel drive.

Severus Snape pulled at a long, twisted iron rod hanging from the portico outside the massive timber doors which were carved with figures of Egyptian hieroglyphs.

"Now is not the time for nervousness," he said penetratingly to the other man. "We have been working hard to prepare this next attack on the Order. You may be rewarded with a major operational task, so take control of yourself now before we enter the presence of the Dark Lord."

In answer to the bell, the door opened on its own and the two men entered a massive marble-floored entrance hall. Large family portraits lined high walls which led up a marble staircase which was covered centrally by a black carpet with the gold initial "M" featured on each step. The figures in the portraits turned and glanced with a flicker of interest at the new arrivals before returning to their preoccupations. At the foot of the stairs stood a tall, thin-faced woman dressed elegantly in black robes which disguised her pregnancy. Narcissa Malfoy's hooded eyes and lack of expression gave her an arrogance which was in keeping with the impenetrable stone walls and the coldness of the marble floor.

Snape approached her and bowed. He presented his companion, a young man in his late teens who the woman took by the hands and with no warmth at all, kissed on each cheek - her cousin, Regulus Black.

"Regulus, dear," she said. "How nice. Follow me, they are waiting for you." And she swept towards a tall set of doors leading into an empty drawing room which faced the front of the house. The effect of the leadlight windows was to allow light to enter but to all but obscure any view of the park-like grounds of the estate.

Lining the rear walls were bookcases full of books with titles like "The Power of Darkness" and "Curses of the Underworld". Everything was spotlessly clean. The chandeliers sparkled in the light from the window. Leather arm chairs were arranged around a fireplace at the end of the room, but the fireplace looked as though it had never been lit, the logs on the hearth as ancient as the building itself. At either end of the mantelpiece were statuettes which had been brought back from Egypt 250 years ago by the trader who built the house. At one end a pharaoh with a gleaming headdress of lapis lazuli and gold, his fine wrists crossed under his chin with golden rods and staffs in his hands, and at the other a gold lion looking majestic and proud. In the middle of the mantelpiece was a crystal ball sitting on a golden stand. The ball was completely clear except for something which looked like flames shining from the centre of its encasement.

Narcissa placed a bony white hand on a book and pulled it back. A doorway presented itself and the two men saw a spiral staircase revealed by torchlight burning above the void. They descended the stairs into the chamber below.

The stone walls had torches burning at intervals around the walls. A black oval table took up most of the centre of the Chamber and four men and one woman sat at chairs around it. To one end a fire was burning and two other men sat in arm chairs close to it. Lucius Malfoy rose to greet his guests whilst the other sat with his elbows on the arms of the chair and his fingertips pressed together in front of him as he examined the new arrivals.

The woman jumped to her feet. "Regulus!" she cried, moving quickly over to him she placed her hand to his chin and said "Look how the little baby is growing up into a handsome young man! Rodolphus, don't you think he's just adorable!" But there was nothing affectionate in her voice. Her smile was glacial and her tone as cutting as a razor.

Black and Snape nodded to the other men present and took seats at the table. The younger brother of Sirius Black, Regulus was shorter than his brother and stockier. He had the same black hair and somehow looked older than his nineteen years. True to his family motto "Toujours pur" he had joined Lord Voldemort in support of his desire to see power given to the pure-blooded wizard families who had kept their bloodlines free of muggle corruption. It was with pride that he had accepted the burning mark of the Death Eater on his left arm and now he was the youngest present in this select group called before Lord Voldemort. Apart from his cousin Bellatrix, sister of Narcissa Malfoy, and her husband Rodolphus Lestrange , his fellows at the table included Rodolphus' brother Rabastan, Walden Macnair who worked for the Ministry of Magic and the feared executioner Anton Dolohov.

Voldemort rose to his feet and stood facing the fire.

"My loyal Death Eaters," he began. "All these years of hard labour are beginning to bring a glorious harvest."

He turned to face them, looking at each one with a bladed expression as his mouth twisted into the ghost of a smile.

"But our most difficult task is still ahead of us. Lucius, would you reveal to our friends here the details of our achievements to date."

Lucius Malfoy stood and faced the group.

"Thank you, my Lord." Malfoy bowed to Voldemort. "We have achieved much together over the past two years. True, there have been set backs. Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix has presented us with obstacles which have necessitated changes in our plans. But with patience and stealth, we are creeping up on our goals. It is vital therefore that any plans discussed today be kept within our group. Secrecy is paramount. We know little of the activities of the Order, however we have a new opportunity to gain information thanks to a member of the Order who is becoming disillusioned with the lack of progress that Dumbledore seems to be making. We can congratulate ourselves that this looks to be a significant breakthrough. Having someone with inside knowledge of Order activities has been a goal that our patience has now brought forward."

"Can you name this person?" asked Snape, looking at Malfoy distastefully.

"Not at the present time. Our Lord wishes to keep his name solely to himself at this stage. However I can continue our happy report with the news that Macnair here has made significant inroads into negotiations with the Giants and the Trolls of the Continent. They appear at last to be seeing the benefits of joining our quest and can see from our achievements that our eventual domination of the magical world is undeniable."

"Excellent!" said Voldemort. "You see, my fellow Death Eaters, patience and diligence are being rewarded. And our stealth in these matters is achieving our objective right under the nose of Albus Dumbledore and his Order. However, Dumbledore is still a stumbling block and a force to be reckoned with. He is currently protected by some particularly talented members of his Order who we must deal with and dispose of. If particular, the Potters and Sirius Black come to mind. Lily and James Potter have been able to outwit us on two previous occasions and this must not be allowed to continue. If there's one thing worse than a mudblood, it's a pure blooded wizard who associates and mixes his blood with that filth. We must rid ourselves of Potter and Black.

Voldemort turned to face Snape.

"Potter's wife is particularly talented. She is a mystery to her blood status. I have never encountered a witch quite like her and were she a pure blood I would consider taking her for myself. But as such she is a significant threat and if she were to get caught up in her interfering husband's demise, well the true wizarding world would be better off. My dear Severus," Voldemort continued, walking behind Snape's chair, "you have waited a long time to be rid of James Potter. As a reward for your patience you may take it upon yourself to eliminate him. I will tell you shortly of a plan I have which will assist you."

"Thank you, my Lord," said Snape. "I am most honoured."

"And as for Sirius Black," continued Voldemort.

"He is mine!" cried Bellatrix Lestrange. "That traitor to our family! He is a festering sore which I will cut out. Please, my Lord, leave him to me - I would receive the ultimate pleasure from casting his spell of death!"

"Calm yourself, Bellatrix," said Voldemort with the hint of a smile crossing his face. "I am aware of your impatience. But I have other plans for you." Bellatrix opened her mouth to object but Voldemort saw her and raised his hand to stop her. "No, I have other ideas for Sirius Black." He turned to Regulus. "My young friend, here, has told us before of his keenness to achieve great things for us. Now is his chance to prove himself. I know what it takes to kill a close blood relative and it did not take much for me to kill my own father. Regulus, you are to find your brother whom I know you have not seen for some years, but you will seek him out and you will kill him. Then you will return to me for your reward."

Regulus stared at Voldemort in disbelief. For a moment his mind was filled with terror. He knew his brother was one of the most talented wizards of his time and on a one-to-one basis he was no match for Sirius. But before him stood one of the most formidable dark wizards that ever lived and he knew he had to take on the task or risk his life.

"Of course," he stammered. "I will do my best."

"Your best?" Voldemort raised his eyebrows. "You will do it, whatever it takes. Am I understood? If you would prefer, I can send Dolohov with you for assistance."

"No!" exclaimed Regulus. "No, I can achieve this myself. Dolohov, thank you, but I know how I can do this on my own. Two of us could get in each other's way. I'll do it myself." Regulus was trying hard to contain his emotion in the way that Severus Snape had taught him, trying to blank his mind to the fear welling inside him. However gently Voldemort's offer of assistance was given, Regulus knew that were Dolohov to come with him and Sirius survived and got away Dolohov would be only too quick to punish the failure.

"Excellent," said Voldemort with a look that penetrated Regulus to the centre of his brain. He walked around the table behind each of the Death Eaters. As he passed them he put a hand on each of their shoulders. None of the Death Eaters could mistake the cold wave of threat that washed down them like ice as he did so. But when he touched Bellatrix she lifted her face to him and smiled and patted his hand affectionately with her own. When Voldemort left the table to return to the fireplace, Bellatrix smiled to her husband beside her as an acknowledgement of the joint status they enjoyed together in loyalty to their Lord.

"Now let me tell you what we must do." Voldemort turned to face them. "Dumbledore has stood in my way for too long. We have tried before to rid ourselves of him but he is well protected inside Hogwarts and slippery when outside. I need to formulate a plan to lure Dumbledore to us, something he would not be able to resist. Now that I have access to Dumbledore through someone he trusts, we can send out the bait. We can give him a sniff of the future and instead of us needing to catch him away from his protections, he will come right into our trap of his own accord."

Just at that moment there was a piercing scream from the room above them.

"My God!" cried Malfoy. "Narcissa!" and he raced up the spiral staircase, followed closely by Bellatrix.

They pushed through the doorway in the bookcase to find Narcissa kneeling on the floor in the middle of the drawing room. She was white as a sheet and trembling, her hand pointing up to a high shelf on the bookcase. In front of the fireplace a book was lying open and face down. Pages were bent and torn. On the other side of the room, one of the leadlight windows was wide open.

Malfoy rushed to his wife's aid and lifted her into his arms. He set her down in one of the leather arm chairs and conjured a glass of water. Narcissa sat, pale and trembling, sipping the water.

"I came into the room and saw the window open," she whispered haltingly. "The windows are sealed shut with Imperturbable charms. Only the strongest magic could open them. Then I looked around and saw that a book had been taken from the shelf."

"Which book?" asked Malfoy

"The Curse of Khafre," said Voldemort, picking up the book and restoring the leaves carefully. He flicked through the pages, a smile spreading across his features.

"It tells the story of the lion of Khafre who guarded the powerful dark wizard pharaoh. The pharaoh was being threatened by his younger brother who wanted to take over the throne. The brother had a secret weapon which the pharaoh knew he could not defeat on his own. He called on his guard, the lion, to ask for his help. The lion knew that he too was not powerful enough to vanquish the brother's attack but the lion said to the pharaoh. "I have always been a good a faithful servant. And you are a powerful wizard. You have a significant power which together we might use to conquer your brother. If you occupy my body, together we can combine the power of your wizardry with my strength and heart of a lion." The pharaoh was taken with the idea and so he used his powers to occupy the body of the lion and together they formed the Sphinx.

"There was a great battle between the brothers. It was night of full moon and they faced each other in the desert under its silvery light. The Sphinx paced around his younger brother taunting him with puzzles and riddles. "How can you be more powerful than me if you cannot solve a simple puzzle?" he asked. The brother took from beneath his robes a phoenix and launched it into the air. It flew up into the sky until it was silhouetted against the fullness of the moon. The Sphinx rose on his hind legs and with his wand he cast a spell at the phoenix.." Voldemort broke off.

"What happened?" asked Bellatrix, transfixed.

Voldemort turned to the fireplace. He seemed suddenly fascinated by the artefacts on the mantelpiece.

"Malfoy," he said, turning to Lucius. "Where did these items come from?"

"They were brought back from Egypt by my ancestor who built this house," said Malfoy. "He traded in fragrances and oils, making a small fortune."

"My dear Lucius," said Voldemort. "I believe that your ancestor was involved in a little more than just oils and fragrances. When the Sphinx rose to cast a spell at the phoenix, it was silhouetted against the full moon. The spell captured the phoenix and imprisoned it into a crystal ball. But just before this happened, it sang its song which struck such fear into the heart of the Sphinx that it was turned to stone and the crystal ball fell into a hole at its feet and there they both have remained to this day. But my dear Lucius, I believe that your ancestor might have interfered with the resting place of the ancients. What you have here on your mantelpiece is that very phoenix!"

Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes. Narcissa's hand flew to her mouth and she looked very white. Bellatrix's eyes flashed as the knowledge sunk in.

"This," said Voldemort, slowly, "is the very thing! My fellow Death Eaters, a plan has come to me which is so ingenious, Dumbledore will be unable to resist." He laughed out loud. "I have him in my hands! All I need to find out is how to release the phoenix from its spell." He reopened the book and searched through the pages. "But there is a page missing!" he exclaimed. "Whoever took this book from the shelf has removed a page, the page which reveals how the phoenix may be released. But no matter, I have ways of discovering it. It will just take a little longer, that's all."

Chapter Two

"Merry Christmas, Lily," said James Potter, his eyes still closed to the early morning half-light. He rolled over in bed to face his wife and stretched out a hand to pull her warm body closer to him on this cold winter's morning. His eyes flew open when he realised she wasn't there. James sat up and picked up his wand to light the bedside lamp. The blankets and quilt had been thrown aside and Lily was nowhere to be seen. He could see a light under the door of the bathroom, so he lay back again. After a while, Lily came back into the bedroom and threw herself down across the corner of the bed with her head hanging down towards the floor and her feet dangling in the cold.

"Ooohhh!" she groaned.

"What's up? Too much Christmas cheer?" said James with half a laugh. He kneeled over her and gently stroked his hand up and down her back.

"Nooo," moaned Lily. "I didn't have anything strong to drink last night."

"Well, you must have eaten something that didn't agree with you."

"Nooo," she moaned again. "The food was fine. But don't talk about it. I don't want to think about food."

Too late. She jumped to her feet and rushed off to the bathroom again. Five minutes later she was back and resumed her position across the corner of the bed.

"Well something's got you," said James. "Can't you come back in here? It's cold outside the covers."

Lily wriggled her way back under the covers, still lying on her stomach. James lay propped up on one elbow and rearranged Lily's long hair so that it fell away from her face and down her back. After a few minutes, Lily appeared to have recovered. She turned her face on the pillow and smiled at him.

"When you weren't here, I was wishing you Merry Christmas," he said quietly, stroking her cheek with his finger.

"Merry Christmas, darling," Lily smiled at him. She drew his face closer to hers and kissed him. "Can you guess why I'm not well?" James moved himself across to lie close to her.

"Well, I can't talk about food. And you didn't drink. And it's morning. And I'm not a complete cretin - I think you might have missed once, if not twice.."

Lily laughed. "I knew you were too smart for your own good!" She moved onto her back and placed his hand just below her navel. "Yes, I think this is our last Christmas on our own. My guess is around the end of July."

James moved across and kissed her stomach. "Hi, in there," he said. "Merry Christmas!" He pulled Lily towards him and as she wrapped her arms around him, he kissed her strongly and passionately. "I love you so much," he said. James had always felt a sense of completeness with Lily. But as they made love that Christmas morning, the knowledge that a child would be born to them gave a further sacredness to their relationship. His sense of oneness with Lily was never so intense.

Chapter Three

"I bumped into my brother in Diagon Alley yesterday," said Sirius Black to James.

"Really?" said James, surprised. "You haven't seen him in how long?"

"Years," said Sirius. "He was just a kid when I left home. Fourteen or so. Apple of our mother's eye. He's nineteen now and out of Hogwarts of course."

"What's he up to?"

"That's what worries me," said Sirius. "He wanted to meet me for a drink and a chat. So, against my better instincts, I took him to the Leaky Cauldron. I think he's in big trouble. He was anxious and shifty. What worries me most is that he found me. He doesn't know where I live, but I need to be more careful about going to Diagon Alley. He wants to meet me again, says he's got something important to tell me."

"So what are you going to do?" asked James.

"Well, I want to talk to Dumbledore about it first. But I told him to get in touch with my cousin Andromeda. If I want to meet him I can do so at her place."

James looked out of the window of his home at Godric's Hollow. Snow was falling in a late winter's blast, covering some snowdrops and crocuses which had previously thought it safe enough to raise their heads above ground. Remus Lupin was throwing a cloth over the dining table and Peter Pettigrew carried out from the kitchen a large tray with glasses and jugs of pumpkin juice and butterbeer. There was a whispered "pop" and Albus Dumbledore apparated into their presence.

"Good afternoon to you all," he greeted them with a smile. "Lily, how nice to see you. You are looking exceptionally well."

Lily stepped forward to kiss Dumbledore on the cheek in welcome. "Thank you, yes I'm well over the sickness now," she said, patting the little bump of her stomach.

James and Lily sat together on a couch facing the blazing fire. Dumbledore, Sirius, Lupin and Pettigrew took up armchairs on either side of the hearth.

Sirius explained to Dumbledore his dilemma. Dumbledore gazed into the fire for a few moments.

"Did your brother tell you he is a Death Eater?" said Dumbledore

"What!" exclaimed Sirius. "I knew there was something wrong! The little jerk! He's probably joined up to impress my mother. She's always been sweet on Voldemort's ideas and Regulus hasn't got the backbone to disagree with anything she says. He's her little darling, alright."

"How did you know Regulus is a Death Eater?" asked Peter.

"I have information coming to me from many sources," said Dumbledore. "Regulus has been a Death Eater for about a year. He was introduced to Voldemort by your old adversary, James, Severus Snape."

James let out a sigh and looked at the ceiling.

"That makes sense," he said, shaking his head. "Snape was a Slytherin prefect for most the time he was at Hogwarts with Regulus. He would have had plenty of opportunity to influence his thinking before graduating. Especially as he had it in for Sirius and me most of the time."

"Yes," growled Sirius. "And he would've gone straight back to Mother with all the gruesome details of what you and I got up to. No doubt he thought being introduced to Voldemort was a huge honour. Would have doubled the size of his already fat head."

A scratching at the window diverted their attention. A large brown owl shivered on the windowsill as snow softly padded the outside world. Lily let it in and it flew straight to Sirius who unfurled the parchment attached to its foot.

"It's from Andromeda," he said. " "Thank you for the fruit, it was so kind of you to remember my birthday. I honestly thought you hadn't remembered, it's been so long since I received anything from you. Nymphadora wanted to eat them all at once but they look like they could do with another few days, so I've put them away. Don't want her to get tummy-ache. Andromeda." I haven't sent her any fruit - this is a trick! James, have you got some parchment?"

Sirius grabbed a quill and started writing back to Andromeda. "Don't eat the fruit whatever you do. Destroy it. True to form, I didn't send you anything at all - it is most likely charmed or contains potion of some sort. Do not receive anything from Regulus. You could be in danger. Be very careful. Sirius".

He tied the parchment to the owl's foot and launched the owl from the window.

"Regulus is up to something," said Sirius, darkly.

"I think," said Dumbledore, "that he finds himself upon the horns of a dilemma. From what I gather, Voldemort is planning a large offensive to take place in the middle of the year some time. He's trying to clear a path to give his operation the best chance it has of succeeding and that means trying to get rid of the people around me. But I sense that Regulus is somewhat out of his depth. If he were to wish you harm he ought to have struck when he met you in Diagon Alley. But he didn't and now he's taking the hands off approach and trying to lure you to your cousin. Now I come to think about it, there might not be any fruit at all at your cousin's home. The note could well have been written by Regulus himself. We must be very careful to recognise bait for what it is."

"Speaking of bait," said Lily to Dumbledore, "can I tempt you with some lunch?"

"Oh no!" exclaimed James. "You don't want to eat lunch with Lily at the moment."

"Why ever not?" asked Dumbledore.

"Well, not unless you're fond of sausage and marmalade sandwiches. That's all she seems to eat these days!"

"I'd be delighted to share your sausage and marmalade sandwiches, Lily," said Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Don't worry, we've got real food too," laughed Lily. "You carry on talking - I'll be right back."

The men returned to their discussion.

"So, you think I should ignore Regulus?" asked Sirius.

"Be patient," said Dumbledore. "He's quite capable when given instruction. But if I remember him well from school, he missed his mentor - that was Severus Snape of course - after Snape graduated. He tended to flounder a bit in his last years. If Regulus is up to something he will be debating it within himself for some time."

"What else do you know of Voldemort's plans?" asked James.

But before Dumbledore could answer, Lily was back from the kitchen, holding a piece of paper.

"I don't know where this came from, but I just found it on the floor in the kitchen," she said. "It looks like it's been torn from a book."

She gave it to James, who read it.

"This is very odd," he said. "It seems to be part of an ancient legend about a phoenix encased in a crystal ball. It says the phoenix can only be released by the crystal being raised into the sound of the stone circle at the rising sun of the summer solstice. Then will the phoenix be released and the lion will separate from the elder and the elder will survive over the younger." He passed the paper to Sirius who also read it.

"That is the end of the story of the Curse of Khafre," said Dumbledore. "It's really the story of a squabble between an Egyptian pharaoh and his brother who wanted his power," and he went on to tell them the story of the phoenix and the Sphinx. "It is interesting because the phoenix it mentions was at that time very close to Fawkes. Phoenix couples mate for life and I believe that one of the things that has sustained Fawkes for so long is the knowledge that one day his partner might be released from her entrapment. I believe, Lily, that Fawkes is sending a message to us, but quite what it all means I shall have to wait to find out."

Peter was reading the page with Lupin looking over his shoulder.

"Where's the crystal then," asked Lupin. "If it exists it would be hidden somewhere inside the Sphinx it could be there for ever!"

"In actual fact, it was found a couple of hundred years ago," said Dumbledore. "A story went round that some wizards who traded in the Middle East came across some artefacts, one of which was the crystal. Some money changed hands between the robbers of the Sphinx and the traders and the crystal disappeared. No-one knows where it is today."

"So if the other phoenix were released," said Peter with a laugh, " you'll have an office full of baby phoenixes within a year!"

"Oh, no," said Dumbledore, a shadow passing over his face. "No, Fawkes and I have a very special relationship. He is a most faithful bird and we .." Dumbledore thought for a second, "how shall I put this..we sustain each other in life. When the partner of a phoenix dies, the remaining partner sings it through to the next world. The phoenix song is a most magical and spiritual thing. The spirit of the passing phoenix rides upon the song to the Spirit World. Fawkes would desire to perform that act of love for his partner if she were to be released from her prison because he knows that she would not survive longer than a minute outside it now."

Chapter Four

Severus Snape sat at the table of his single-roomed basement flat under the shopfront of Ebenezer Puke's Potions Dispensary. He worked as a potions mixer during the day in a back room of the shop, combining herbs and potent liquors and the making of decoctions and concoctions in cauldrons and steaming compressors. Mr. Puke valued Snape so highly he allowed him to occupy the basement flat at very little charge.

A single candle burned in a lamp upon the table and papers with calculations and measurements and weights of herbs were strewn across the surface. Snape gazed at the end of his quill, his mind far away from the intricacies of alkaloids and the combination of emetics.

His mind had returned again to the problem of James Potter, whom he loathed. He had suffered at James' hands many times during their school days and had himself landed hexes and jinxes upon James, but their running score ran massively in James' favour. James, after all, had the assistance of his little band of friends not to mention the popularity of the rest of their year, whereas Snape had always acted alone. True, there had been occasions when Lily Evans had shown compassion towards him. She had called James off and insisted James leave him along. On the one hand, Snape was entranced by Lily's eyes. He was a master occlumens and legilimens, however Lily had the ability penetrate the mind of many a wizard in a way that came naturally and without the effort of closing off all thought, all feeling. But the humiliation of a rescue at the behest of a mudblood like Lily left deep wounds.

Snape's problem was that he had been given the honour of disposing of James Potter for the Dark Lord. As much as he was inspired to do so, he knew that this was impossible. James Potter had saved his life. Potter had, in an act of monumental humanity, pulled Snape away from certain death at the hands of Remus Lupin when Lupin was transformed into his werewolf state. The debt that Snape owed Potter meant that applying the final solution to Potter's fate was impossible whilst the debt remained. To cancel the debt, Snape would have to reciprocate and that would be seen as failure by the Dark Lord and certain death - probably from Voldemort himself.

He pondered over the situation. The Potters had escaped Voldemort twice before. The first time unbeknownst to anyone else apart from Lily, James had created a secret and portable portkey out of a stone set into a ring which he wore. Voldemort had surprised them but the cover to the stone had been flipped off by Lily and together she and James had vanished in front of his eyes.

The second time was an ingenious projection charm which Lily had conjured in front of them. This was an incredibly complicated and complex charm which projected the image of herself and James in ever multiplying numbers like reflections in a room of mirrors. It became impossible to distinguish the real from the reflection and they escaped, leaving the reflections to slowly dissolve.

Snape appreciated Voldemort's duel feelings about Lily. She was the most talented witch of her era and the fact that she was muggle-born was an anomaly. She intrigued and fascinated him, but at the same time her lack of breeding inspired loathing and hatred.

Snape was no fool. He was highly intelligent and his wizardry skills were sharply honed. As a potions maker he was second to none. His knowledge of the dark arts was profound and he had learned much from Lord Voldemort. There was only one wizard alive who had the power to outwit the Dark Lord and that was Albus Dumbledore.

And as Snape turned his thoughts to Dumbledore, he found his dilemma deepening underneath him. All the time he was at school he was aware of Dumbledore's power. He inspired allegiance from most of the students and his abilities seemed to stem from a direct line to Merlin. But Snape considered Dumbledore's compassion his weakest point. He was renowned for giving second chances, for letting people off what ought to have been severe and lasting punishment for misdemeanours. It irritated him constantly that Potter and Black got away with so much and appeared to have so little self control. And yet it was Potter and Black who now occupied such elevated status inside the Order of the Phoenix.

At the same time, he saw that both the Potters were expanding in their abilities. Black was always energetic and was a fearsome adversary. If anything should happen to Dumbledore there were a number of talented people who could take over the Order. Remus Lupin also was quick witted and very talented but faced severe limitations from poor health due to his monthly transformations into his werewolf state. Frank and Alice Longbottom, like the Potters, had enormous talent and as aurors were well respected. They had been responsible for the gathering of information leading to the apprehension of many Death Eaters and their sympathisers. Even Peter Pettigrew seemed to be involved in many of the Order's activities despite his many lapses into thickheadedness. Snape considered Peter would have had more success with a career in the Ministry of Magic, shuffling papers and composing inter-office memoranda.

But his respect was for Lord Voldemort. Here was a man Snape could relate to. He had total control over his following and had powers beyond imagining. He was feared universally and had clear ideas about his objectives. There was no opportunity for failure. It was Snape's secret ambition to succeed Lord Voldemort, but his ambition had to be hidden. Any sniff of competition would mean instant elimination. Snape had to build respect amongst the Death Eaters another way. Potter's death would be just a step in that process and yet he found himself bound by his debt. If Lord Voldemort were to be killed - and Snape felt the only person capable of doing that was Dumbledore himself - there would be nobody to take over his place. Malfoy was interested only in himself. Dolohov couldn't act without instruction, the same as Macnair. The Lestranges were loyal to Voldemort but did not command respect as individuals and Bellatrix had moments of complete insanity which even Snape found alarming.

As the hours passed into the night, Snape found himself coming to an impasse. The task he had been set was impossible and he now began to wonder that Voldemort might have had a suspicion about this when he gave it to him. Was this a test - like the test he gave Regulus Black? How could he know about the debt? Who was this new source of information about the Order? There was no way to find out - Voldemort's occlumency skills were supreme. No-one could break into his mind.

A solution came to Snape. A solution so obnoxious he felt physically sick. But as he mulled his thoughts around and around, he kept coming back to this one way out. He decided to go to bed and see if in the morning he could change his mind.

Chapter Five

The next day Snape was embedded in the rear of the Dispensary mixing prescriptions. During the middle of the day, the young assistant Marcia Madeley, was sent out to Slug & Jiggers Apothecary to procure ingredients, leaving Snape alone. He heard the front door open and reluctantly he left his workbench to attend the front of the shop. To his extreme annoyance Regulus Black entered and was looking around to make sure there was nobody else around.

"I am alone," said Snape. "Why are you here? This had better be important. I don't have time to waste on your preponderances."

"I need to talk with you," said Regulus. "I don't know what to do about my brother."

Snape looked despisingly at Regulus. What he saw before him was a man drowning in the conflict between his desires and his abilities.

"We can't talk here," he hissed at Regulus. "Come downstairs at 10 o'clock tonight and we will talk then."

Regulus looked around the shop and then bought some liquorice drops as a pretence for being there. He paid Snape and left.

That night Regulus arrived five minutes early for their meeting.

"What is it that you find so difficult about a simple task that you have to seek my advice?" sneered Snape.

"It's not so simple, believe me," said Regulus. "My brother is a virtual unknown to me after all these years and I know his talents by reputation. He despises our family and I have no doubt that when threatened he is extremely dangerous. I know I can't succeed against him and he would have no hesitation in throwing me into Azkaban or worse - I know he could kill me without a thought!" Regulus was becoming slightly hysterical.

"You have to complete your task," said Snape dispassionately. "The Dark Lord demands it."

"I know, but I can't do it! I know the Dark Lord disposed of his own family - but it's not that easy!" Regulus was trembling and had no colour to his lips. "And if I fail, Dolohov will be on my tail immediately. Severus - please help me! I'm a dead man!"

Snape regarded Regulus with contempt.

"Why should I help you more than I have already? All through school I assisted you to acquire skills beyond those they taught at Hogwarts. You seem to have forgotten it all. The Dark Lord is engineering a scheme to wipe out all the Order and Dumbledore as well. You will have an opportunity to carry out your task then. You must pull yourself together.."

"But I've tried!" cut in Regulus, leaving his seat and pacing around the small room. "I've tried to lure him to my cousin's but he saw through the plan. I tried to slip a draught into his drink at the Leaky Cauldron but he kept his hand on his glass the entire time. He's very wary and extremely difficult to corner." He struggled for a moment, trying to decide whether to part with his next thoughts. Snape saw this and immediately set his eyes upon Regulus.

"Tell me what is in your mind," Snape said in a threatening, low tone. "I must know and I will make you tell me, you know that I will!"

"I've thought about going to Dumbledore. I don't think I can be a Death Eater. I don't have the strength. I'm not like you, Severus. What the Dark Lord is asking me to do is too much!"

"Traitor!" cried Snape. "Damn you, Regulus - the Dark Lord will know about this in an instant and you are right! You are a dead man! How dare you betray everything that we have been working for?"

"Severus, please, I'm so confused. You're right. That's a bad idea - but what other choice have I got?"

Snape was furious. He paced around the room menacingly, white with anger. But his anger was less for Regulus's treachery and more for the fact that what Regulus had expressed was in fact his own solution. Much as he reviled himself for it, he was starting to think that his own best option for survival was through falling to his knees before Dumbledore. He stared at the wall for a minute and then turned to face Regulus.

"Do not go back to the Dark Lord," Snape said to Regulus. "You will be discovered immediately. Go into hiding and send me an owl to advise me of your location. I will contact you. Now go! Before I change my mind."

Chapter Six

"No, that's not going to fit," said Lily who was standing at the door of the bedroom moving the furniture around with her wand.

"James! Sirius! Come here and tell me if you think I can turn the bed around to the other wall, shift the cupboard over to the other side and then fit the crib in between the bedside table and over there.." Lily was making movements with her hands as if trying to cement it in her mind where she wanted everything to go.

James and Sirius came up the corridor and looked into the bedroom.

"Is that new?" asked Sirius, pointing to the patchwork quilt.

"Yes," said Lily. "I made it myself, with a bit of help from James' mother. It looks beautiful doesn't it?"

"It's great," said Sirius. "But what disturbs me is that on one side of the bed there's one pillow and on the other there are four piled one on top of the other. Who sleeps there - a giraffe?"

Lily punched him playfully and Sirius feigned serious injury.

"Don't you know anything about being pregnant?" she asked, rhetorically.

"Obviously, no I don't!" said Sirius.

"Well one day you will and it's not very comfortable. I need all of those pillows in all sorts of funny places. Giraffe indeed!"

"Nah," said Sirius, shaking his head. "I'm not ever planning on getting pregnant." and he dodged another punch from Lily.

Sirius turned to James.

"Looks like you've got about six inches of space in there, mate. In fact you might have more room in the crib."

"Yeah," said James, "at least I'd get some peace and quiet. When Lily's not kicking me, the baby is. It packs quite a punch, you know."

"Must be all those sausage and marmalade sandwiches," said Sirius.

"Oh, no I'm off them," said Lily. "It's cheese and ice cream now."

Chapter Seven

"My dear Malfoy," said Voldemort, sweeping through the entrance hall of the Malfoy mansion and through to the booklined drawing room. "I trust Narcissa is well?"

"Thank you," said Lucius Malfoy. "She and the child are thriving."

"I have great news," said Voldemort, casting aside any further domestic talk. "But it must remain between ourselves. My source of information within the Order has been most valuable. It appears that the missing page from your book has emerged at the home of James and Lily Potter. It revealed the secret we were missing and now I can put my most ambitious and momentous plan into action. I have one opportunity to succeed and succeed I will. But I will need this .." And he took the crystal ball from its stand on the mantelpiece and held it up to the light. "This is the most beautiful, most valuable artefact I have ever seen. And it is the key to the downfall of Albus Dumbledore."

He reset the ball back onto its stand.

"You see, Lucius," continued Voldemort. "I have the secret to the release of this phoenix. It will require dark magic the like of which only I am able to perform. And the release of this phoenix will summon the phoenix which is closest to Albus Dumbledore. Whilst Fawkes lives, so will Dumbledore. Fawkes has regenerated himself, as phoenixes do, for thousands of years. It is the rare and powerful wizard who has a phoenix as his familiar and as such they share life with each other. To strike a fatal blow to Dumbledore what I must do is destroy Fawkes. And to summon Fawkes to my presence all that needs to happen is the release of this phoenix from its crystal crypt. By all accounts this phoenix will have but a short time to live. But I believe an ancient spell which I have the power to cast, will allow this phoenix to live on in my debt as my familiar. And then my life will regenerate alongside the phoenix whom I have restored to life until the end of time."

Lucius Malfoy felt the blood draining from his head to his feet. Voldemort's voice was the most sinister he had ever heard it. His presence seemed to fill the room as the energy of his plan took place in his mind and Lucius suddenly felt very small and very insignificant. His mouth was dry and he started to feel queasy. But, pulling himself together he managed to articulate "What do you require of me?"

"This can only take place on the day of the summer solstice. There is only one place that it can occur successfully and it is not far from here. I must rebuild Stonehenge and re-establish its energy. And not a muggle in the world must know of what I will do. Diversionary tactics must be used - I will let you use your imagination as to how this can be achieved. Contact all the Death Eaters who are in our inner circle to be present and arrange for others to maintain the silence over the muggles. We have a short time to achieve this, but the sun must rise to an exact point between the stones and above the central alter for the desired effect to occur."

Chapter Eight

Dumbledore sat in his circular office high in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry deep in thought as silver instruments on his desk puffed whisps of green smoke. Thoughts were puzzling around his mind as he anticipated a most unusual meeting. He extracted a pocket watch from his robes and after consulting it for a few seconds, replaced it. Rising from his chair, he walked to the door and made his way down the spiral staircase to the corridor below.

He had asked his visitors to meet him at the rear of the Great Hall where students were only found when they were completely lost or up to mischief and as most of them were involved in end of year exams, neither occurrence was likely. The door leading out to the rear of the Great Hall was located at the end of a short passageway and a flight of stone steps led to a gravel pathway through the rear grounds. He sat on a wooden chair on the portico and waited.

After a while he heard footsteps and rose to greet Severus Snape and Regulus Black. "Good afternoon, gentlemen," said Dumbledore in barely more than a whisper. "This way please." And he led them through to a small room that most people passing through that passageway would never have known existed.

Dumbledore conjured up three chairs and they sat down. Dumbledore regarded Snape and Black with curiosity. Black was nervous, whilst Snape was cold and disaffected.

"Well," said Dumbledore. "I cannot deny my curiosity. Regulus, do you have something you wish to tell me?"

Regulus shifted in his seat and looked sideways at the walls. His hands clasped and unclasped themselves. "I have made some fairly substantial mistakes over the past few months and I have come to ask your advice and your help."

"Go on," said Dumbledore calmly.

"About eighteen months ago I joined Lord Voldemort as a Death Eater."

"This I know, Regulus," said Dumbledore. "As I know that Severus here also carries the mark of the Death Eater." Regulus's mouth dropped open but no sound came out. He was astonished that Dumbledore would permit two Death Eaters into his presence so calmly as if it were afternoon tea with cucumber sandwiches. He tried to gather himself.

"I...I know now that this was a grave mistake," Regulus continued. "But I have changed my mind. I have been asked to do things that are too much for me. He requires me to undertake tasks that I am unable and unwilling to do and failure means certain death. I know that I am a doomed man if I stay with him and I am doomed if I leave. He has powers beyond imagination and he will not hesitate to kill me."

Dumbledore observed Regulus through his half-moon spectacles, his eyes serious and intense. He then turned to Severus Snape and asked "Severus, is there anything about Regulus's dilemma to which you wish to add?"

"I have come to support Regulus. I don't wish to be here for any longer or for anything more than he does," Snape replied.

"Is that so, Severus? I hardly think supporting Regulus was your only motivation to attend today," said Dumbledore.

"Obviously I would not risk my life were that my sole consideration," said Snape. "But I too find myself being lured into a trap by Voldemort. He has set me a task which I believe he already knows I cannot achieve and is testing my loyalty. It is a game he plays before he kills people. He toys with them whilst they run around in circles of fear trying to save their own lives and he laughs at their pathetic efforts. He has asked me to dispose of James Potter however I have reason to believe that he already knows of the lifetime debt that I owe to Potter and because of that I am unable to carry out his demands. I have thought about it long and hard but I will not be played with like a puppet on so many strings."

Dumbledore sat for some time regarding Snape, his half-moon spectacles catching the light of the setting sun through the window.

"Severus you have always been a keen thinker and I know that coming here involved enormous courage and not a little humility. I have a role for you which I believe you will be able to carry out better than anyone else.

"Regulus," said Dumbledore, "your very presence here is a death sentence. I am quite aware of the implications. And to all intents and purposes you will die and you will die at the hands of Severus here."

"But." Regulus was panicking.

"Calm yourself, please," said Dumbledore who was smiling slightly. "I do not mean to ask Severus to kill you literally. But as of this moment you are dead. Your mother will be advised, your friends and family will be told. All your possessions will be distributed and you will take on a new identity. Severus, only you will be able to face your Lord Voldemort to tell him that you killed Regulus as he tried to escape from membership of the Death Eaters and run to Dumbledore's protection. You will tell him that Regulus's body was transformed into an acorn and buried beneath an oak tree. I know this carries great risk for you but I am confident that you are as accomplished an occlumens as it is possible to be."

Dumbledore rose to his feet and faced Regulus. "Regulus, you will go now into hiding for a few weeks. I know of a place where you may stay during this time on an island in the sea north of here. There is a wizard family there who will take you in for a while until the fuss dies down. They will assist your transformation to your new identity. You will introduce yourself to them as Stubby Boardman. You will work hard with them and keep your head down until I send you an owl and you will be able to return to a normal life."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," said Regulus, his eyes shining and obviously still afraid.

"You may leave us now," said Dumbledore. "I wish to speak with Severus alone."

Chapter Nine

"James, I have something to ask you," said Dumbledore. He stared pensively into the unlit fireplace at Godric's Hollow, apparently considering carefully the question he was about to pose. James and Sirius sat and waited patiently as Dumbledore strung a series of thoughts together in his mind.

"I have information that Voldemort has found the crystal that contains the phoenix of the legend of the Curse of Khafre. James and Sirius looked at each other in astonishment.

"Where on earth did that turn up?" asked Sirius.

"To all accounts has been sitting on the mantelpiece of Lucius Malfoy's drawing room for the past 250 years where it was put by Malfoy's ancestor who bought it in Egypt. There it has remained all this time until that day when Lily found the page from the book which told how to release the phoenix. The rest of the book apparently fell from a shelf in the same room that the crystal was displayed. I'm not certain who took the book and tore out the page, but I must say Fawkes has been looking very pleased with himself for some time now." Dumbledore allowed a smile to flicker cross his eyes.

"I have been given brief, but I believe reliable, information that an attempt will be made to release the phoenix at the summer solstice some time after dawn at Stonehenge which, as you know, has extremely magical properties in itself." Dumbledore resumed his gaze towards the fireplace.

"What do you want to do?" asked James.

"I don't wish to panic about this," said Dumbledore, waving a hand in the air. "There is every chance the attempt will fail. The magic which encased the phoenix is very old and very powerful. I am not certain that Voldemort has the ability to accomplish it but he has undergone some powerful transformations and his knowledge of the dark arts is extensive. It's possible he might know enough to achieve it. What I was going to ask of you both was to attend as observers only."

"Of course!" exclaimed Sirius. "We can disillusion ourselves ... shouldn't be a problem."

"James," said Dumbledore, "this could get dangerous. You and Sirius are the only ones I trust enough with this information who would be able to deal with any eventualities apart from Frank Longbottom, but Alice has been so unwell lately that I have no desire to put further pressure on him. Considering Lily's condition, I would perfectly understand if you decided not to participate."

"Lily is just fine," said a voice behind them. "You don't have to worry about me, Albus. I'll go and stay with James' parents for a couple of days. If James is going as an observer, I'm sure he will be only too aware of the implications for us all of getting further involved."

James smiled up at Lily who was looking at him very intently. "Well, that's it then," he said.

"You will withdraw if there is any hint of things going wrong," said Dumbledore. "Whatever happens we can deal with it afterwards. There is no point in taking undue risks.

Chapter Ten

The eve of the summer solstice was quite unusually calm. The late setting sun was driven slowly from the sky like an elderly lady on an evening stroll. The blanket of stars which replaced her light twinkled and sparkled as birds took up their perches and put their heads under their wings, flowers closed their petals and mice scuttled from swooping owls and watched from their covers with whiskers trembling and noses twitching in the starlight.

From the south and the west, clouds started to billow silently, hugging the earth in a thick, wet and sticky fog. All through the night it crept over the south-west of England, obliterating all sight.

"This is the BBC," rang out the muggle radio station. "We have an urgent weather alert for the south west of England covering the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire and all areas as far east as the Kent Coast. An unusual set of upper and lower air disturbances has seen the formation of a particularly thick fog. Visibility is nil and authorities have advised all people living in these areas to stay at home and not to attempt to travel on the roads. Emergency services have had calls from stranded motorists on major and minor road systems and multiple car pile-ups have been reported. Unfortunately, assistance has been impossible due to the conditions and the Bureau of Meteorology has been unable to give an estimation of how long the fog will last. For further updates stay tuned ..."

And the muggles were content to stay in the padded cells of their homes. Anyone who strayed outside was immediately beset with the thought that it was better to stay indoors. By midnight all vehicles had their engines turned off, the trains had stopped rattling along their rails, airports had their runways closed and nothing and nobody stirred.

When James woke early that morning it was still dark. He went to the next room and shook Sirius and they dressed and got ready to go. They applied a Disillusionment charm to themselves and disapparated straight out of the house to Salisbury Plain where they arrived to a position about 100 yards from the massive granite stones of Stonehenge rising out of a thin dew like black holes silhouetted against the moonlight. James looked around and was surprised to see that this was the only area free of a fog which seemed to be cutting off Stonehenge from anywhere else. Clouds formed a thick circular barrier all around the Henge leaving half a mile of clear area where the stones rose out of the ground. They crept up to a large upright stone and peered across the rubble and fallen Top Stones into the centre area where dark, shadowy figures were suddenly appearing with soft "pops" and circling round with wands drawn.

"I'll go around a bit," said Sirius softly. "You stay here."

"OK."

Fingers of light were stretching across the black sky and James was able to make out the black figures a little better. He counted six Death Eaters apart from Voldemort whom he recognised from his stance in the centre of the Henge. The other Death Eaters appeared to have hoods covering their heads and he couldn't tell who was who. They were taking up positions facing away from the central space where a large alter stone lay on its side. Voldemort had placed a black cloth over it but James couldn't tell what was underneath.

In the rapidly increasing light, Voldemort leapt up onto a stone adjacent to the alter and raised his wand up high. He waved it round in a circle, tracing the circumference of the Henge in the air.

To James's amazement a low note started to play around the standing stones. It caused a vibration to pass through the ground underneath him and through his disillusioned body. The note started to sound louder and then raised itself a semitone, and then another. James quickly turned his head and saw ancient stones which had lain on the ground for over two thousand years start to rise into the air. Massive granite blocks which weighed thousands of tons tilted themselves onto their ends. Others floated into the air above James' head and relocated themselves onto the top of the standing stones, the ground shaking as they settled themselves. One by one, the stones reformed the glorious original henge which was built over three thousand years previously. As the last Top Stone gently lowered itself into place there was a sudden and deathly silence. Not a breeze, not a waft of air disturbed the site.

James was breathless. His heart was racing and his head was starting to spin. He knew he was in the presence of some of the most powerful magic it was possible to experience and for a brief instant he looked at Voldemort with absolute respect. Now he understood why he attracted the loyalty of Death Eaters. Who could deny magic so intense, so inescapable. He leaned against the stone to gather his balance and his head started to clear.

The sun was slowly climbing into the sky. It couldn't be seen just yet because of the fog surrounding the whole site. James reasoned that it must have been conjured by the Death Eaters as a disguise for Voldemort's little ceremony and that the sun had to rise to a point in the sky where its rays could shine clearly into the centre circle. Still the silence was suffocating. None of the Death Eaters had moved. Voldemort stood with his hands resting on the cloth over the alter stone. Despite the improved light, James still couldn't work out what could be under it but the stone was ancient and wasn't likely to be cut completely straight.

With the Death Eaters standing sentinel around the centre stone, Voldemort started to pace around. He was checking each of the large stones for positioning. He seemed to spend a bit more time around the stone where James thought Sirius might be hiding and for a moment James held his breath. Then Voldemort continued walking around the inner edge of the outer circle, looking up at the sky and back to the centre.

The flaming disc of the sun was now creeping over the Top Stones of the Henge towards the East. Voldemort ran from his position close to James' stone and stooped to pick up something. He jumped up onto the stone next to the alter and raised his wand into the air. For the second time he waved his wand around the circumference of the Henge.

The low musical note returned, sending its vibration through the entire area again. Then it stopped. Voldemort stood like some crazed conductor on a podium. Just as the sun was half way over the Top Stone he swung his wand around and slashed it down and there was a blast of musical notes so loud that James almost cried out in pain. He clapped his hands to his ears, feeling his legs go weak and he leaned hard against his stone to stay upright. His head was swimming and for a moment he panicked that the disillusionment charm was being affected by the incredible level of energy. He watched, breathless and stunned, as Voldemort raised a crystal ball into the air with his hand. He touched it with his wand and it started to float, turning slowly upon the music higher and higher. James was almost blinded by the sunlight rising above the Henge and as he squinted his eyes, he was almost certain he could see golden strands of circular musical vibration rising above the centre circle like an inverted whirlpool. In the centre of the whirlpool, the crystal ball was being drawn upwards through the vortex until suddenly it reached a point where the angle of the sunlight penetrated its centre.

There was a loud explosion and the crystal shattered into a million tiny shards. There was a flash of scarlet and gold as the crystal's phoenix spread its liberated wings and took to the air. Suddenly a song broke out over the already deafening noise from the western side of the Henge - the song of a second phoenix, and James whipped his head around to see Fawkes flying over the Top Stones of the western Henge towards the other bird. At the sound of Fawkes, the Death Eaters, who up until now had remained upright and silent suddenly collapsed to the ground. Only Voldemort remained on his feet, pointing his wand into the sky and laughing.

Voldemort seemed about to aim his wand at Fawkes and the crystal's phoenix when above the entire Stonehenge there arose an enormous apparition. Over the din of musical undercurrent there were blasts of what sounded like celestial trumpets which set the mammoth stones of the Henge trembling and James looked up in terror that the Top Stone above him would start to fall. On one side of the Henge there was the outline of a lion seemingly made of golden wafts of cloud and on the other, the figure of a man clothed in blue and gold robes with the headdress of a pharaoh. Together they towered over the Henge, the lion's golden paws balancing on the Top Stones, the Pharaoh positioned on the other side, their images stretching far into the sky. An energy of intense pressure bore down on the whole site.

Voldemort stepped backwards in shock and had to jump to prevent himself falling off his podium stone. His wand dropped to the ground. Fawkes continued to sing over the din and the crystal's phoenix rose into the centre of the ghostly figures above and placed one foot on the hand of the pharaoh and the other on the upheld paw of the lion. In an instant both phoenixes, the pharaoh and the lion had all disappeared, the music stopped, the pressure released and James was left close to collapse with his brain ringing with the echoes of sound, the silence thudding around the stones of the Henge.

James was certain all the world could hear his heart pounding in his chest. He fought for breath and struggled to stand against the spinning of his head.

There was nothing. No movement. No sound. Not a breath of air. Then,

"Noooooo!" screamed Voldemort into the sky.

He fell to his knees and grabbed at his wand on the ground. The Death Eaters were starting to stir to their feet. They seemed confused and were looking to each other as if waiting for instruction.

"Stay where you are!" cried Voldemort to the Death Eaters who stopped moving and stood stock still.

Voldemort ran across the few steps to the alter and waved his wand with one hand around the Henge and with the other he grabbed hold of the black cloth. To James' horror, Voldemort stopped his sweep of the Henge and pointed directly at him with his wand. He looked down at his hands but they were still disillusioned. He pressed himself close to the back of his stone and peered out from behind, his eyes struggling to focus.

"I know you are here, Potter!" cried Voldemort. "And I know you are not alone!" and he flicked his wand towards the stone where James though Sirius might be and a flash of red light struck the granite, causing a huge chunk to explode away. James thought he heard Sirius cry out. "Now you will summon Fawkes to this place. That phoenix will answer your call!"

James swung away from the sight and stood breathing heavily with his back hard up against the granite. For a moment he considered disapparating but he couldn't leave without knowing what had happened to Sirius. Voldemort continued.

"Potter! You will do it now, or your wife will die!"

James spun in terror to look at the alter. Voldemort had pulled away the black cloth and James suddenly felt as if the millions of crystal shards were shooting into his skin and the blood in his veins ceased its flow. Lily was lying pale and motionless on the alter, her dress sweeping from her swollen body and falling in folds over the sides of the stone.

"I thought you'd be interested!" cried Voldemort. The Death Eaters started to shift around. One ran softly over to another to get a better look at the alter. Another moved backwards towards the stones behind him.

"She is very beautiful, Potter!" Voldemort continued, picking up Lily's lifeless hand. "And despite her filthy blood I find her talents fascinating."

James knew that to reveal himself would be death. He knew that Voldemort could see through the disillusionment but probably the other Death Eaters couldn't. His mind was spinning again in a combination of horror and sickness. He wanted to dive at Voldemort, to separate him from Lily, to stop him touching her.

"Do you have any conception as to what it feels like to possess the body of another, Potter?" Voldemort called over to him. "As a husband, you might have a ghost of an idea!"

Voldemort moved towards Lily's head. "If I touch her here, do you feel it Potter?" Voldemort put his hand on Lily's heart. Immediately, James was gripped with a searing power like a vice squeezing into his chest. He wretched and his knees were weak. He fell to the ground, doubling over in pain. His body was shaking, icy and numb. He looked up to the alter again and Voldemort removed his hand. The pain subsided, but James' heart was pounding and everything ached. Voldemort swam in and out of focus. For a second James was certain he would faint. He struggled to hang on to his wand.

"If I possess her body, Potter," taunted Voldemort, "there will be no room for you in her heart. I can push you out as easily as I can utter the simplest spell." Voldemort held Lily's head and bent to kiss her lips. Again, James was consumed with pain and he fell to the ground, rolling between the two upright stones and clearly into the view of Voldemort.

He was still struggling to focus when a bat flew over him so closely he could feel the wafts of air from its wings. A vaguely familiar voice rang in his head "She is not what she seems."

James struggled to his knees, still wracked with pain but knowing now what he must do. There was a flash of scarlet over his head and two glorious notes fell from the sky and washed through him like golden honey. And as Voldemort's form swam before him he pointed his wand at the alter. James felt the pain subside enough to let him shout "Riddikulus!" and Lily disappeared in a wisp of smoke, leaving a toy giraffe sitting on the alter stone.

Voldemort screamed, his voice cutting through the air.

James rolled over behind the stones just as Voldemort cast a series of spells around the Henge, destroying its formation. Stones started to rock and a Top Stone on the other side fell with a crash to the ground. James looked up and through the waves of nausea saw the Top Stone above him starting to topple down. He felt himself falling away from consciousness. Blackness was closing in on him. There was another flash of scarlet and Fawkes flew under the stone, stopping it from falling and holding it in mid- air. He could hear footsteps running towards him - "Please, don't let it be Death Eaters," he found himself thinking and then he felt Sirius crashing into him and they went rolling across the earth. There was an enormous thud behind him and everything shook as the stone hit the ground and in a flurry of scarlet and gold feathers, Fawkes flew down to where Sirius was lying on top of him, his fist gripping hard on to James's robes. Sirius reached up and grabbed Fawkes' golden tail feathers and James knew no more.

Chapter Eleven

When James came to, the first thing he was aware of was a thumping pain which felt like all his brain was battered and aching. He groaned as he moved his head and heard.

"Sshhh! Lie still, everything's alright."

Lily was sitting on the side of the bed holding his hand. He opened his eyes and saw her whole and well and unharmed and he tried to sit up to collect her in his arms but she gently pushed his shoulders and said "Lie still, James. Try not to move."

"I want to hold you," said James, and he felt an enormous lump of emotion sticking in his throat.

"OK, but I'll come down to you," she said. And with his eyes closed he sensed her bend over him, and he could smell her hair as she put her face close to his and he felt the touch of her lips against his cheek and he lifted his heavy arms and tried to wrap her in an embrace. But everything hurt. Everything hurt so much it felt like every bone in his body had broken and every inch of skin was tearing away.

"Just stay there," gasped James. "Stay like this. Don't leave me. Let me hold you for a while."

And she did. She shifted herself so that she didn't press too hard against his body but let him rest with his arms around her with her head on his chest. After several minutes, he moved his arms and stroked her hair with his hand. He opened his eyes. A lamp burned softly across the room. The door opened and a woman came in with a tray of bottles.

"Madam Pomfrey?" asked James.

"Poppy's going to stay with us for a while," said Lily. "School's finished now and she's going to help me look after you and then stay to deliver the baby."

"And you had better behave yourself, James," said Poppy. "You've had a particularly nasty time. It will take at least a couple of weeks to get you back on your feet. Lily's in no state to do any lifting and you'll need quite a bit of help over the next few days."

James let his head rest back in the pillow. He was starting to get his thoughts back together through the thudding pain.

"Sirius!" he suddenly exclaimed. "What."

"It's OK," said Lily, "Sshhh! Sirius is fine. He's sitting in the living room waiting to see you."

"Is he OK?"

"He'll live," said Poppy with a wry smile. "I've patched him up. He's got a nasty gash and a black eye - not that it's the first time I've had to sort him out."

James saw Sirius' shape fill the doorway.

"Five minutes!" said Poppy sharply to Sirius. "Don't go wearing him out."

Sirius came in and sat on a chair next to the bed. He had a bandage around his forehead and his left eye was looking thunderous.

"What happened?" asked James.

"Well I got hit by a chunk of rock that flew out of the stone that Voldemort struck with that spell. It knocked me out for a short time. When I came to, Fawkes was sitting on my shoulder and crying tears onto my head. When I looked over to where you were, the stone was already starting to fall. Fawkes flew underneath it to stop it crushing you and it gave me time to run over and tackle you. Thankfully the disillusionment charm had been shaken a bit so I could just about make you out. Then I caught onto his tail and he carried us out of there."

James closed his eyes again.

"It was a nightmare, Lily," said James. "I saw you there. I thought you were dead. He touched you and I felt like my body would burst."

"It wasn't me!" said Lily. "It was a boggart. He knew what he was doing to you by using your own fears against you."

James wrestled with his memories for a few minutes.

"Dumbledore?" he said.

"Will be here in the morning," said Sirius. "I've spoken with him. Somehow he already knew everything that happened. He said there was nothing he could do tonight but everything was OK, Fawkes is fine and the Ministry is flat out smoothing things over. Voldemort's had a huge defeat, largely at his own hands."

"That apparition," said James weakly to Sirius. "Was that Dumbledore?"

"Apparently not," said Sirius. "Nobody knows where that came from, but I'm kinda glad it's gone. That was magic even more powerful than Voldemort. Dumbledore was still a bit shaken when we spoke about it but he's certain that they were spirits carrying the phoenix through the veil of death. He doesn't think they'll return now they've got what they wanted."

"That's enough now," said Poppy, returning through the doorway. "James must rest. You can talk to him again in the morning. I've got a sleeping draught ready for you, James. Just swallow this.."

James swallowed the potion and was swept up in a glorious wave of total peace, leaving the pain and the images behind to be dealt with another day.

Chapter Twelve

It was a warm afternoon on 31st July, just six weeks after the astonishing events at Stonehenge. Albus Dumbledore sat in his favourite armchair in his office contemplating the outside world. The school was quiet. All the students and staff were on holidays for the summer. No voices called across the grounds. No footsteps hurried late to lessons. Dumbledore sat with only the clicking and whirring of instruments breaking the silence.

Fawkes sat on his perch and tugged at some wayward feathers.

"It's extraordinary, Fawkes, you know," said Dumbledore. "The power of silence. Did you know that if two strangers were to sit in silence gazing into each other's faces, after two hours they would know all that is necessary to know. Words can be superfluous distractions, Fawkes."

He considered the prophecy given to him four weeks previously by Sybil Trelawney, the prophecy which had made him decide to continue with the teaching of divination at Hogwarts.

"There is one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord, Fawkes," said Dumbledore. "One who is born as the seventh month dies."

He thought about Frank and Alice Longbottom with their new son, Neville. And then his mind turned to the conversation he had just had with an excited James Potter who had given him the news of the safe arrival of his son, Harry.

"Born to those who have three times defied him. Both the Longbottoms and the Potters have defied Voldemort three times, Fawkes. But the one who comes will be marked by the Dark Lord as an equal - don't you think that's a bit arrogant, Fawkes? Why should the Dark Lord limit someone into being his equal? But, we're in luck. The prophecy says the one who comes will have a power the Dark Lord knows not. For neither can live while the other survives. The power of light and the power of darkness, Fawkes. It's an age-old dilemma. The power of light transfigures that which is dark. Let us hope that when the eyes of "the one who comes" looks into the face of the Dark Lord that Voldemort's inner world will become manifest and brought to the light. That would be transfiguration indeed, Fawkes."

Fawkes shook his head and then spread his wings slightly. Smoke started to wisp up to the ceiling around him and suddenly he burst into flames. When the clouds cleared away, in the little bed of ashes a tiny, naked phoenix chick squawked.

Dumbledore moved over to observe the chick more closely.

"I suppose you think that's funny," he said.