Chapter Forty-six: In The Lair Of The Deatheaters

Summary: Forty-sixth chapter. Three to go. That about sums it up.

To Sirius the time seemed simply evaporate. Before he knew it Dumbledore was calling everyone around and telling them it was time to set off on the last part of the trip to the Deatheaters lair. They were still a good three miles away, and it would take most of the hour they had reserved to get there.

When they were still a fair distance from the lair, Harry noted that the wizards and witches around him began to separate from the others in small groups and disappear into the woods.

"Where are they going, Sirius?" Harry asked his godfather.

"Well, we can't all appear on Voldemort's doorstep at once." Sirius answered. "Some of them will be going in ahead of us. Other behind us. We are to follow Miss Morton. She'll be taking us in."

Snape and Lupin were among the last to leave. Harry watched his godfather wrap a hand affectionately about the back of his friend's neck and pressed his cheek to Lupin's. "You take care of yourself, Moony." Sirius whispered. "I want to see you when this is over."

Lupin pulled back and gave Sirius the best reassuring smile he could muster at the moment as he held tightly onto his arm. "You will, Padfoot." He promised.

Off to the side a different scene caught Harry's attention. Snape had approached Analisa and, wrapping his arm about her waist, drew her into a long, deep kiss. As he slowly released her, he kissed her quickly again before hurrying after Lupin as he slipped his mask into place. But Harry didn't have long to think about what he had seen as Sirius directed him off after the remaining figures.

Some fifteen minutes later Harry saw the light of fires appearing through the trees. The small group that was left, consisting of himself, Sirius, Dumbledore, and Miss Morton, stopped at the edge of the trees as they looked over the situation.

From his vantage point, Harry saw several robed figures approaching a clearing in front of a large mountain. The clearing was ringed by torches, and in the mountainside a large door was illuminated from within. Within the circle several other robed figures stood talking while still others drifted in and out of the doorway. From outside the circle of the torch light, Harry watched several more robed figures approach the doorway.

Analisa had been right. With the masks in place, it was impossible to tell who was who.

"All right." Analisa asked, looking back at them all. "Everyone ready?"

The small group nodded in response.

"Now, we're expected. The guards at the door were told not to detain us. So there's no need for us to wear masks. But stay close to me and follow the plan."

As they headed out of the trees, Sirius pulled Harry to a sudden stop.

Harry glanced quickly to his godfather.

"You stay with me, Harry." Sirius told him, sounding sterner than Harry had ever heard from him before. "No matter what. You stay right by my side. I want to know through every second of this exactly where you are. You understand?"

Harry nodded quickly, then hurried with Sirius to catch up to the others.

Everything seemed to go exactly as Analisa had said. Although they wore no masks, neither of the guards at the door challenged them. But Harry did note the curious stares they got as they walked past and could hear the whispering that followed behind them. Around his shoulder he felt Sirius' grip tighten slightly as they moved deeper into the lair.

Just as Analisa had described it, Harry saw the corridors splitting off from the main one. Further down the main corridor suddenly ended as it opened into a large, torch lit chamber. As Harry looked about the expansive room, he could only imagine that the majority of the inside of the mountain must have been carved out to form the high-domed chamber. To one side sat a large, stone-lined pit. A large bonfire burning in it. Harry could only imagine this was what was warming the room since, unlike what he had expected, the room was a comfortable temperature. In the center of the room, raised on a platform, sat a large throne like chair.

The room itself was packed with Deatheaters. More than Harry had ever seen in one place before. Perhaps as many as a hundred masked faced turned towards him as they passed. But from what Harry could tell, not a single one of them spoke a word.

As they made their way through the chamber, Harry felt the grip on his shoulder tighten slightly again. Harry glanced up at his godfather. But the expression he met was almost completely devoid of any emotion. The only thing even close to that expression Harry had ever seen on Sirius' face was the look he now took on whenever he spoke of his years in Azkaban. A look that had replaced the hollow, dark stare that had always terrified Harry deep down, since it was at those times Harry felt the deepest separation from his godfather. With a sudden dawning awareness, Harry realized what Sirius was likely reacting to. The main chamber, Analisa had indicated, was used for executions. This was likely the very room where his godfather nearly lost his own life a few short weeks before.

But as he watched Sirius, Harry realized that what he was doing was the very thing he had spent those few short day in the infirmary trying to teach him. He was burying his emotions within himself. Not allowing them any place in his thoughts or actions.

Harry quickly thought back to the training Sirius had tried to impart on him about how to control his emotions. His godfather had been adamant that Harry not allow his anger to get the better of him tonight. And so Harry reasoned he had best start now at trying to reign his emotions in, though 'anger' was far from what he was feeling at the moment. Trying to remember Sirius' training, Harry adopted the same expressionless mask that Sirius wore, trying not to concentrate on how he felt as much as on what was going on around him.

By the time they reached the other side of the chamber, Harry felt he had

things well under control. But the minute he set foot in the narrow corridor, knowing where it would lead him, his facade crumbled around him and the fear came rushing back over him like a cold rush of water suddenly dumped over him from somewhere above. Harry could feel the dampness of the air settling on him and smell the musty scent that had grown heavier as they entered the small corridor.

A tight squeeze on his shoulder brought some feeling back to his body. Harry turned to catch a small smile from Sirius as he directed him forward in front of him.

But half-way down the corridor the order of the procession suddenly changed as Sirius pulled Harry back and stepped around him, placing Harry between himself and Dumbledore, who brought up the rear.

Harry had expected they would stop for some last minute instructions before entering the small chamber. But the procession marched silently through the doorway without any delaying. Harry felt his stomach tighten up inside him and a strange tingling sensation run through his body.

Then the pain hit him. His scar suddenly felt as though it had ignited and was burning a path right through to his brain. If Dumbledore hadn't been behind him to catch him, Harry was sure he'd have hit the floor.

Sirius turned about abruptly. "Harry?"

Harry righted himself quickly on his feet again. He couldn't allow himself to get distracted by the pain.

A low, chilling voice suddenly filled the small chamber.

"Welcome, Harry Potter" It said. "To the place you will spend your last remaining hours."