In Every Darkness
Chapter Sixty Three: Official Arrivals
4.10.1996
Severus Snape jerked awake as the Dark Mark burned cruelly on his arm. I'd be careful, Lupin advised him. The Dark Lord won't be in a good mood. He just failed to completely take over Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. Most of the students got away safely to Hogwarts. Beauxbatons faired badly, but he didn't manage to take anyone prisoner as he'd wanted to. The schools lie in ruins, and over one hundred students are dead or missing in Beauxbatons.
Over one hundred? That's a lot of deaths. But how did Durmstrang escape? Severus demanded quickly.
The Order got there in time. Only fifty students are missing from there, and most of them probably just joined the Death Eaters anyway, Lupin replied.
You're cheerful today Lupin. What happened to you?
Nothing, Sev. I just haven't had word if Harry's alright. I think he was fighting.
Why must everyone worry over Potter? Snape asked no one in particular, though the only person who could hear the question was Lupin.
Umm … Maybe because he holds the fate of the wizarding world in his hands?
That's overused. He can't be that important. I'm sure there's a way of surviving without the little idiot. He's not even that good a wizard.
Hey! Watch your mouth Sev! He's a great wizard, you just can't realise it because you think he's James! Lupin replied angrily.
Severus maintained a stony silence as he walked to Voldemorts chambers. He did not want to listen to that. He told himself it was because it was lies, that Lupin was telling him to make him doubt himself. But at his very inner core, he knew that it was become Remus spoke the truth that he was angry.
All too soon Severus, with his companion, reached Voldemort's quarters and entered. It was a full meeting. Four members of the Inner Circle were standing to one side, fear coming off them in palpable waves.
Severus took his place calmly. This must be about the failed attack on the other two Magical Schools. At least it would not be he getting in trouble this time.
"Death Eaters!" Voldemort called out softly. "I have attempted to launch an attack on the schools of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, sending six members of my Inner Circle, those who should never have failed me.
"But fail me they did! These six of my servants were given a task – to carry out a plan which I had thought up. They found my perfect plan beyond them.
"Had they been any other one of you, they would die here and now. But they are my Inner Circle, they have stayed by me. So I will let them live. Lord Voldemort can be merciful."
Really?
Shut up.
"Instead of death, they will be demoted to ordinary Death Eaters until I believe them worthy of returning to the Inner Circle. Go about your tasks now, my servants! We will continue our preparations to take over the wizarding world!" Voldemort cried, and the Death Eaters raised a small cheer.
Severus slipped away. I was sure that he would kill them, he remarked, not really addressing Lupin at all.
So was I. Maybe he wanted to cement the loyalty of his 'friends', just to make sure that they wouldn't try to desert him as you have done, Lupin replied anyway.
I wasn't talking to you.
Well how was I supposed to know that? I'm the only one who can hear you when you talk like that!
6.10.1996
Three days after the disastrous attack on the other two European schools, the Ministry of Magic sent several of it's officials, along with the Minister of Magic, to Hogwarts to see what was going on.
"Dumbledore! It's preposterous! These foreigners are claiming that Harry Potter and a bunch of students managed to save them from the Death Eaters with minimal support from adult wizards and witches!" Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge blustered.
Harry, Lily, Ron and Hermione were hiding in a secret passageway with a spy hole, watching everything that was going on outside.
"Yes, Harry Potter and his friends did give a lot of help to the incoming students, most especially those from Beauxbatons who arrived in our grounds being attacked by Death Eaters. Harry was also present with the Durmstrang students at their own school, though he had little to do there," Dumbledore's voice was calm, the opposite of the Minister's half excited, half disbelieving tone.
"You can't be serious Dumbledore! He is only sixteen years old, and I doubt any of his friends were much older!" Fudge's voice rose in volume.
"Harry had the same group of people, plus several others, who helped him at the attack on the Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore interrupted calmly. "They did an admirable job, for only a very small group of fifteen years old or younger, don't you think?"
Fudge blustered, but couldn't come up with an argument. "Actually, we didn't only come for this. Michael McGonagall told me that Potter claims he killed a basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets in second year," he said eventually.
"Harry did indeed do this," Dumbledore said, and, from his hiding place, Harry had trouble hiding a blush as Lily looked at him appreciatively. He and the Durmstrang girl had become fast friends, quickly discovering that they had a lot in common.
"But …" Fudge stammered.
"You heard that Harry was a Parseltongue, I believe, Fudge. I suppose you never heard the story behind it in full. Harry discovered that he was a Parseltongue in his second year when the Chamber of Secrets was being opened.
"It turned out that he'd been hearing voices in the walls throughout the year, though he did not tell me of this until after he'd been to the Chamber and saved young Ginny Weasley.
"In any case, it was discovered by Harry and his friends that he was hearing a snake in the walls, a basilisk, which was using the plumbing to go all over the school and seek out victims before attempting to kill them.
"When the basilisk took Ginny Weasley down into the Chamber of Secrets, Harry and Ronald Weasley followed it. The ceiling collapsed, leaving Harry trapped on the inner side, and Ron on the outer.
"Harry went on alone, and met up with Tom Riddle, who'd been preserving himself as a memory in a diary, found Ginny Weasley, who was nearly dead because Tom was stealing her life force, and the basilisk, which followed Tom's commands and tried to kill him.
"Somehow, Harry managed to call my phoenix, Fawkes, to him, and Fawkes brought with him the Sorting Hat. When Harry put the hat on to ask for help, he was given a sword.
"Fawkes blinding the basilisk, which tried to hunt Harry by smell. Harry managed to drive the sword up through the creatures head, killing it.
"He was, unfortunately, badly wounded by one of the basilisks poison fangs, and would have died if Fawkes hadn't used his tears to heal him.
"That was how Harry managed to defeat the monster from the Chamber and rescue Miss Weasley. I do hope that you are not going to disbelieve me again Cornelius, especially after the last time caused such disastrous results," Dumbledore finished.
"Oh, well, we'll see the truth of this soon enough anyway," Fudge said, sounding embarrassed. "If he is lying, we'll find out in the Chamber."
"If he was lying, he would not have agreed to take you to the chamber in the first place," Dumbledore remarked with a sigh, as the two of them started moving again.
"Come on, let's go," Harry said. "No use eavesdropping on those two any more, I don't think they are going to tell us anything particularly useful."
"Yeah," Lily nodded. "Shall we go back to the Gryffindor common room?"
No real lessons had been going on for the past few days since the arrival of the new students, but they would recommence tomorrow, much to the dislike of those who would have to attend them.
Lily and several of the other new students had taken up residency in the Gryffindor Tower, while others had filtered into the other houses.
Since most of the houses got along just fine, everyone was happy enough to mingle with various houses, however, the new students from the other three houses had quickly developed the rest of the schools dislike of the Slytherins.
None of the Beauxbatons joined Slytherin, though quite a few of the older Durmstrang students did. "I wouldn't worry," Lily had confided in Harry, "that lot are nasty anyways."
"So, we have to come up with a Quidditch team," he remarked. "The teams are supposed to all be in by three weeks from yesterday."
"I'll play Keeper," Ron said instantly.
"I'm Seeker," Harry added.
"I'll go Chaser, if you'll have me," Lily said.
"Course we'll have you! You're a friend!" Harry, Ron and Ginny spoke as one.
"I can go for Chaser too," Ginny put in.
"I can play de Chaser as vell," everyone looked up to see the very pretty Gabrielle Delacour speak. She, too, had chosen Gryffindor Common Room as her home.
"We can ask at DA as well – we also need reserves," Lily pointed out. The Durmstrang girl had joined in the DA training with a will, and had already started helping Harry teach, showing some of the dark arts that she'd learnt at Durmstrang.
"Yeah," Ron agreed. "We'd probably have to take it in turns playing in the games though, otherwise it wouldn't be fair."
"I don't believe it! Ron, you were thinking of someone other than yourself!" Ginny teased her brother, and the group laughed, even Ron, though he looked a bit embarrassed.
"So, Harry, you killed a basilisk? How old were you?" Lily asked, suddenly, fixing her eyes on Harry.
Harry ducked his head in embarrassment, but his friends related the tale in full to Lily, who seemed very interested. "He was twelve," Ron began…
"I'm going up to bed, I feel kinda tired," Harry interupted. "If you want to grill me about the Chamber, do it in the morning, ok?"
Without waiting for a reply, he headed upstairs, hearing Hermione clearly as she turned to Lily and said, "That's Harry for you. Never asked for fame, never wanted it, but stuck with it anyway. He can't help doing things to make him even more famous."
Lily giggled slightly. "Viktor isn't like that. He likes being famous, even if doesn't really brag that much. I don't like people who get bigheaded about their fame that much."
For some reason, this made Harry feel very odd inside.
"Hey Harry! Long time no chat – I've been hanging around for ages waiting to hear what happened with that attack!" Sirius bounded eagerly to Harry's side.
"Hi Sirius," Harry smiled, a little sadly. Suddenly he and Sirius were standing on a barge being poled down a wide river by invisible pole men. A rainforest completed the picture, spreading its leaf canopy over the banks of the river.
Harry smiled slightly and sat down. "Well, I told Dumbledore what you said in the dream …" he began, as the barge moved further on along the river.
"Wowah," Sirius said at the end of the narrative. "That was some tale mate! So many died, though … Well, that is the way of war. People die and people fight, and more children are born … You up for a duelling practice?"
"Of course!" Harry replied, standing up.
Suddenly he was pulled away from Sirius and the dream world. Assuming he was waking up, Harry relaxed his body, allowing himself to be taken away.
But before he woke, he watched once more a fragment of dream.
He circled warily, his eyes watching a spinning silver blade. It looked familiar, and it felt so … right in his hands. He spun it, fast and faster, over his head, behind his back, jumping into the air to whirl it round his feet.
Suddenly his rhythm changed, though he made no conscious decision to start something new. Now he was moving as if blocking something, then parrying.
Somehow, his body knew the patterns he had to make, his mind felt devoid of any thoughts, let alone those that might control his movements.
His body moved in perfect sync with the sword in his hands, twisting, leaping, a dance of death that he had no control of.
***
Next chapter: Into the Chamber! Please REVIEW!! I want to know what you all think.
Well, I didn't quite make it to 2640, even, but 2639 will have to do, I suppose. Can't keep you waiting for a new chapter long now can I? But let's try to get to 2680 reviews before next time, please. Only another forty one, that can't be TOO hard, can it? See you soon!
~WolfMoon~