Silver Blood
Chapter 16: A Light in the Dark
The streets were crowded with unsuspecting people going about their daily activities. Among the crowd of people was a figure standing still watching them. The woman had long black hair and deep ocean blue eyes, hidden behind a pair of shades. The sun appeared to be hidden by some invisible cloud, which blocked most of the luminous rays that would've come down upon the earth. At a glance up to the sky, Melarna saw the eclipse almost half way across the sun. Because of the now cloudless sky more people were noticing it. Not that it mattered anyway, she smiled. Like all of the muggles they were staring at it in awe, not even the slightest bit suspicious what would happen once the whole world was in complete darkness...
Her lips curled into a malevolent smile, "Worthless muggles."
She walked by them, staring with hungry eyes. The piercing gaze was covered by her sunglasses to conceal her identity. For she was on a very important mission for a very important person. They only reason she would even step foot in their world was for him. Before long she arrived at a beautiful ivory fountain where two large sculptured dolphins were pouring out clear blue-tinted water. She stepped up to it, glanced around to make sure she had no on lookers, and then took off her shades.
"It's Mel," she whispered.
The dolphin's eyes, though hardly noticeable seemed to glow eerily before she suddenly vanished.
The streets were dark and damp, with the smell of excitement. The shops were open late to celebrate the beginning of a new rise. This was Knockturn Alley, where Melarna appeared. As she walked to the meeting place, she was congratulated and hand-shaken by almost everyone she passed. The attention was more than welcomed to her, but she remained smirking with pleasure on the inside.
A small pub lay further ahead, one of the most crowded pubs in Knockturn Alley. With so many people talking at once no one would successfully be able to evesdrop on anyone. It was the safest place to converse if there were any enemies among them, which she no doubt thought there were. Ever since the Order had come back it had been hard for them to plan properly, but since the last defeat of Lord Voldemort the Order had been called off again, especially with Arthur Weasley as Minister. Once things changed a muggle lover as Minister would not be allowed. He'd have to be disposed of to make room for a whole new Minister...One more powerful than any could imagine.
"Mel!"
She turned, the sinister smirk still planted on her face. In the far corner of the pub sat at least ten people, all wearing black hooded cloaks. It wasn't that unknown for most to conceal their identities. Melarna cautiously looked around before approaching the table and sitting down to join them. She knew about half of them. Across her was the infamous Lucius Malfoy, the man with enough power to claim himself Dark Lord, if there wasn't one all ready, growing stronger, more powerful and more desperate...
Her eyes, sparkling blue and ever watchful scanned the area. A figure wrapped in a deep bluish-silver robe, veiled with a light silver silk material over the nose and mouth, stood walking toward a table. The eyes were covered by the hood of the robe. The figure appeared to have been meeting someone there because a woman was waiting at a table nearby.
Melarna's eyes narrowed, causing her pupils to dilate, slowly and unnoticed they flattened, taking the shape of skinny slits, like cat eyes. Almost instantly she could see the stranger carrying a wand, but bearing no other weapons or signs that they might be working for the Order. If they were it was highly dangerous to walk around there with just a wand and no back-up. The woman sitting down Melarna knew, she was one who worked with the worst kind, not as bad as working for the Dark Lord himself.
They were known as Dark Dealers, selling the most illegal and powerful substances around, a lot of the supplies being ancient. Though these dealers were growing scarce since the last time the Order came together, the time when Lord Voldemort had been taking over sections of Europe one by one until he came to the house that met his defeat...
Feeling better, she turned back to the group, silently folding her arms on the table looking business-like to those around but meaning it in a challenging sort of way.
"Well?" she asked finally, her voice cold and demanding.
Around the table several of the men glanced at one another before looking back at her. Finally, one of the men to her right turned to her, his eyes barely visible beneath his hood.
"We couldn't get it," he whispered fearfully.
Melarna's eyes darkened to their deepest shade in a most threatening way.
"What do you mean you couldn't get it!?" she hissed dangerously, scanning the lot of them. "He is expecting it tonight."
"Yes, well, that illegal...item he wants is very hard to come by."
She turned toward the leering voice looking into Malfoy's cold gray eyes. Her disliking for him grew, though the respect of his ability with others, namely bribing and the fact that he was well respected in the Death Eater ring, remained.
Melarna carefully studied him before speaking.
"You may think you're all paid up with the Dark Lord, Malfoy, but you'll find he knows each of us a lot better than you think. If you don't try very hard to please him, you may find yourself lower than you can imagine."
Malfoy's eyebrow rose in amusement, "Well, Mel, the Dark Lord also knows when we've tried our best."
Melarna glared at him but didn't respond. He was a man who always looked for the easiest way out. The chair screeched as she slid back and stood up staring at each of them coldly.
"That's quite all right. I'll just tell him the truth," her lips curled into a wide smirk. "Never let a man do a woman's job."
With that she turned on her heel and walked out. Several people in the pub snickered loudly, making Malfoy scowl darkly. The veiled figure nearby watched with unblinking eyes.
XXXXX
The tall, elaborate building stood just how she remembered it. It had only taken a minute to disapparate, but there was now strong dark magic protecting it. The walls a darker shade, eerie and just how the Ministry of Magic should look like. If he had accomplished his next step, which she had no doubt he did, he should've unlocked the secret code to get into the heart of the Ministry. Most didn't know the Ministry was actually larger than Hogwarts, not with all the floors but hundreds of rooms holding special assortments.
The heart of the Ministry was a huge room, looking slightly like a ballroom. An ivory floor with a golden emblem bearing the Ministry sat in the center. It was a room that had nothing in its large space except one thing: it held a secret. Something that most wanted to discover. Had the Ministry existed in Salazar Slytherin's time that would've been his first priority.
Several of the Ministry members were corrupted, sure, some of them as cowardly as Fudge had been, but the Ministry building held powers unimaginable. Seers' prophecies, whenever or wherever predicted, were captured in small round glass balls and held for safe keeping if they ever had to hear it again. Information not shown to anyone's eyes held truth about each individual in the world. But the room, the ivory sanctuary held something bigger...something better than a prophecy or information. It held a power, a power the Ministry wanted kept from everyone else.
She approached the main entrance, taking deep breaths. Although she was more loyal than any of the Death Eaters sitting in the pub, she was still nervous about going to report, especially when the idiots he had as "loyal" servants screwed up.
"It's Melarna to report," she said to the door.
She heard a whoosh as the curses lifted to let her in. She walked down the red carpeted hallway, turning right, away from the statue of Merlin leading to the lowest part of the Ministry and walked to the wall. Usually finding the heart of the Ministry was impossible, but not anymore. She put her hand on the wall. Sparks of blue surrounded her hand to figure her identity before disappearing, revealing a large, round golden platform that was floating in mid air. There were no lights anywhere except from the dimness coming from down below. Smiling, Melarna took a step forward. What looked like air was an invisible walkway to the golden platform. When she reached it a set of controls appeared in front of her. A cool calm voice echoed throughout the secret elevator.
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic's protective chamber to the Orb room. Only authorized aurors and Ministry members allowed. Please remember to keep away from the edges of the platform at all times."
The platform jolted slightly as it detached from the invisible walkways to give more room. Melarna stood in the center of the platform waiting patiently. Almost instantly the platform dropped own flying toward the center of the building. Only a minute or two later it slowed down floating down to the ivory floor below where it stopped a half a foot from the ground. Melarna stepped off and waited for it to go back up before walking toward the front of the room to where a large Irish-styled cushioned red chair stood.
Melarna approached slowly trying to hide the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. When she came within five feet of the chair she knelt down to the floor, her hair trailing across her shoulders as she bowed her head. She took another deep breath before licking her lips.
"My lord, I have come to tell you of our progress so far," she spoke loud and clear. It was weak to show fear to him. "We have sent the Dementors to distract the Ministry while you are preparing for when the eclipse takes full effect."
No sound came, no interruption so she continued. "We thought you might want to know, my lord, that several of the creatures that have gotten past the shields to the muggle world are attempting to capture muggles to save them for later," she spoke with a small smirk playing at her lips. "If...if you want...after you've accomplished your goal, I...we could take you to watch the muggles be eaten alive and—"
"Have you retrieved it?" A cold high voice spoke from behind the chair.
Melarna shivered inwardly, she wasn't sure how he'd react even though it wasn't her job to retrieve it only bring it to him.
"Master, I told you I should've handled it, I swear I had no ide—"
"Then you don't have it," the voice interrupted coldly.
Melarna opened her eyes not realizing she had shut them and lifted her head slightly. A tall, thin cloaked figure stood and walked out from behind hte chair, towering over her but still about four feet away. The long silky black robe, lined with green around the edges, swept almost gracefully around his thin body covering past his feet. A large fancy S was imprinted on his chest to the left made of silver and green thread, specifically picked off of Seers' heads. She remembered because it was a gift from all of his most loyal Death Eaters. Above the S was a gold crown to symbolize him as the heir of Slytherin.
Another silver threaded symbol was on the back of the robe, though she couldn't see it at the moment. It was about the size of her fist and was the symbol of the Dark Lord himself. His aura was much more intoxicating now that he had been revived with Harry Potter's powers and life essence. The brat deserved it for causing her master so much devestation and suffering. If he wasn't dead, she'd surely make him suffer until there was no way he'd ever come back...
She bowed her head lower, "No master."
Her voice was full of bitterness and regret. She wanted to please him, become the very first most loyal and trustworthy woman follower by his side. That was her dream...her desire.
"I'm sorry my lord. I'll do anything you ask me to...," she trailed off.
She could feel the intenseness of his gaze. She tilted her head to see a pair of gleaming red eyes that were just visible beneath the hood. The cloak swayed as he took a silent step forward.
"You have failed to bring me what I asked," he hissed staring at her with merciless eyes.
Melarna nodded trying her best not to whimper. He wasn't very forgiving and she knew that.
"Master I...I talked to Malfoy and the rest of them and they said they couldn't get it...that it was too hard, I tried to tell them it was important, but Malfoy he—"
"Silence!" he hissed, pointing his wand at her. "Crucio!"
A high-pitched scream erupted throughout the empty room, echoing off the walls as Melarna twitched on the floor screaming with pain as every bone in her body flared, feeling as if she was on fire. When it finally lifted she was shaking so hard she could barely keep herself bowing without collasping. She bit her lip hard to keep from whimpering or showing any signs of weakness.
Voldemort put his wand gently back in his robe and walked forward.
"I don't want to hear your excuses Melarna!" he said, leaving the tone in his voice threatening.
She quivered harder and nodded, bowing lower so he couldn't see the tears trailing down her cheeks. It wasn't that she was mad or hurt by him, she was disappointed that she couldn't please him, that her goal was at a farther reach. Malfoy was always a jerk but he was right, the item Voldemort wanted was very rare and hardly traceable, so she couldn't blame any of them. She would have to take her anger elsewhere...on someone her lord wouldn't mind.
Harry Potter...
Yes, Harry Potter was the perfect person to take all her anger out. Unfortunately, he was dead, as far as she knew. It was almost impossible to survive a mind curse like that. No one had survived it before, except for one old sorcerer thousands of years ago who ended up going crazy afterwards.
But he has family...and friends. I wonder what they sound like when they're screaming in pain...
Melarna almost laughed out loud, but bit her tongue. She would have her revenge later. Voldemort would be so proud of her if she brought him the closest friends and family of Harry Potter. If Potter's friends and family died along with him, her lord would be ten times more feared than even fifteen years ago when he had been so close to successfully achieving his goal.
"No matter," Voldemort's cold voice broke through her thoughts, "I'll find a way to get it. In the meantime tell Lucius and my other loyal followers to head to Griffin Town."
"Griffin Town, why there?" she asked weakly.
"I may not have the main item I desire, but there is another ingredient I need...And you will lead them there to find me it."
"Of course master, what is it you wish?" she asked more bravely, thankful she was getting a second chance.
She couldn't see Voldemot's cruel smile on his face as he came within a foot to her.
"I need a sacrifice...a child," he said softly.
Melarna almost lifted her head up in surprise but caught herself, "A child? Just any child?"
"Not just any child. They have to be orphened at least for five years now. They cannot be muggle born because they must possess some powers."
"So...they can be half then?"
"Yes...And they must have the ability of sight," he said pacing in front of her.
"Like a Seer?" she asked more bravely.
Voldemort stopped and turned to her, smiling. "Yes, that is exactly what we need. Find this child for me and I will retrieve the item myself."
"Yes master," she said bowing and crawling to approach him. She kissed the hem of his robes and bowed again.
Voldemort stood back up looking satisfied, "You are able to disapparate now, go right away and do not fail me again!"
She nodded and disappeared as quickly as she came.
XXXXX
The small Hospital Wing was feeling more crowded as Ron, Hermione, Sirius and Lupin waited for the potion to take effect. So far, Harry only looked paler rather than better. Ron glanced at Hermione with a concerned look.
"Are you sure we should trust Snape?"
Hermione sighed and looked up at him still holding Harry's hand tightly.
" He's our only hope, Ron. Besides, he helped Lupin," she said glancing toward Remus who was talking with Madam Pomprey at the moment.
Sirius remained silent, starring at his Godson as if it were all his fault. Harry was still freezing and laying there looking lifeless. His eyes were blank and distant, as if he were floating around somewhere away from his body...lost, unable to find his way back. If only Sirius had stood firmly on his first answer, if only Dumbledore and Remus hadn't convinced him...
Dumbledore...he must've known something bad was going to happen, but why did he let Harry go then? I've got to talk to him...Harry's told me before Dumbledore knows these things and that he has reasons for doing them, but I see no reason for him to let my Godson die!
There were too many unexplained questions, but he had to keep it to the back of his mind so he could focus on Harry. He wouldn't believe his Godson was dead...It wasn't possible, or fair, but Remus was right. They had to keep their hopes up if Harry was going to make it.
If and only if Snape's potion works, I might apologize to him for getting into his face.
"Sirius?"
He looked up solemnly to see Ron and Hermione staring at him, looking as grim as ever.
"What is it Hermione?" he asked, without any real emotion in his voice.
She glanced down nervously as if she had upset him.
"D-do you think we should try calling out to him? That's w-what Snape said to do..."
Her nervous glance lifted to him but he didn't look away from Harry's face, nor did he feel angry.
"Sure."
Hermione and Ron shared surprised expressions before bending closer to Harry. Sirius followed suit.
"Harry, Harry can you hear me?" Hermione said into his ear. "Please follow my voice, Harry. We need you..."
She paused for a moment before continuing, "Please Harry, the world is in great danger. Please come back to us..."
There was silence before she tired it several more times. Twenty minutes passed and still nothing. No movement, no reaction, no change. Finally, Hermione stopped looking worriedly up at Ron and Sirius and also at Remus who heard her speaking and came over.
Ron licked his dry lips, pushing his red hair out of his face.
"Maybe if we try it together. He might not be able to hear just your voice."
"Good idea," she brightened.
Together they both held Harry's hand begging him to wake up.
"Come on, Harry, your new broomstick is waiting!" Ron exclaimed.
"What about N.E.W.T.s!" Hermione said.
Ron suddenly wheeled around at her and glared.
"Hermione! We want him to wake up not go farther into oblivion!" he snapped.
Hermione glared back at him, "Well, it's still important Ron!"
Before Ron could retort Sirius put his hands between them to get them to snap back to reality.
"We're trying to save Harry, remember? Not try to dislodge you from each other's throats," Sirius said dryly.
Ron closed his mouth quickly and looked down, the tips of his ears turning red. Hermione too couldn't look up at them.
"Yeah, well it's not working," Ron mumbled.
Remus seated himself beside Sirius, staring at them more calmly, but grim.
"Why don't we all call out to him. Maybe if he hears all of us it might reach him," Remus suggested.
Ron and Hermione looked up and nodded hopefully. They clasped Harry's hand tighter, then the four of them began talking to Harry, asking and pleading him to return to them. Madam Pomprey watched sadly from the sidelines, inwardly praying Harry still had a chance. By her medical clock he was supposed to be gone five minutes ago.
XXXXX
The silence was a never ending calmness that soothed his aching body. He had been in so much pain before, now he just felt nothing, only emptiness. It was cold and dark, too dark to see anything, not that it would have mattered. His eyes were closed, had been for what felt like years.
It was a strange sensation. It was like he was frozen—his body was unable to move. He could feel something holding him close as his arms remained wrapped around his legs. It was like he was dreaming, but he was also aware of how he was.
The darkness had swallowed him from the moment he had heard his Godfather's last words. Now he wanted to be left alone. Even when he had woken to see his friends standing over him, he could feel the emptiness rising inside of him. He was alone and he always had been. No one ever understood him. How could they possibly know what he was going through?
He knew why he felt the way he did, why he was there...He was deserted. They didn't care about him, nobody did. He was alone, alone wallowing in the dark coldness that enveloped him. He had no friends, no family...the world expected him to risk his life for anyone and for any cause, but when one person said something bad about him, suddenly everyone believed that.
Everything was a lie, his life was a lie. It was clear to him how people treated him, even like the Dursleys had, that he was only living to rid the world of Voldemort. When he did, everyone turned against him.
While he was floating in darkness his memories passed before him, even with his eyes closed. The first vision had been when he was seven and chased up the tree by his Aunt Marge's dog. He had been nine going to the same school as Dudley, friendless and picked on in the halls by Dudley and his friends. He was ten, lonely and always forgotten, sitting in the small cupboard during his birthday, wishing the next would be his last. When his eleventh birthday came around he had thought it was a dream come true. Even in his fist year, after all the hardships, loneliness and pain, he had appreciated his newly found fame and popularity.
It hadn't lasted long. After his first year it started going downhill. He was ridiculed and mocked in the Daily Prophet, first by Malfoy and the Slytherins, then by Rita Skeeter, then as time moved on the members of the Ministry of Magic themselves called him "mad" and "unstable", and a liar. He had never lied, he had never killed or hurt anyone, nor had he ever thought ill of the Ministry of Magic, with the exception of Fudge. He had risked his life countless times against Voldemort and tried to constantly protect Hogwarts and his friends...
That was never enough. Besides all the torturous memories of being accused of being the heir to Slytherin, trying to kill Justin with the snake, killing Cedric and being a heartless and inconsiderate temporary "boyfriend" to Cho, a cold far away voice kept telling him he was worthless. The voice echoed softly around him. It had been stronger when he first felt himself surrounded by darkness. It reminded him that he was misunderstood, alone, capable of doing great things but held back by everyone just for their own benefit.
He had been confused at first, looking around the empty, cold space, but soon had realized the voice was right. Why should he continue to fight? What reason was there to not give up and rest his aching body and mind from the harsh expectations of everyone around him? Didn't they think or care how he would feel? The more he thought about it, the more he believed it until he began to get drowsy. Now, he could barely hold his head up at all, his eyes hadn't opened for endless hours.
There was still some uncertainty inside him, though growing weaker and smaller each second. What would happen to him if he fell asleep? Would he wake up in the cold dark space alone? Would he wake up in the boys' dormitory? Or...would he die?
Strangely, after going through his life's memories sitting in the dark with no one there to tell him it wasn't real...that he hadn't been betrayed by those he loved and trusted..., without that he felt he no longer cared what happened. Perhaps he would fall asleep curled up in a tight ball dreaming what he wanted his future to be. Maybe his parents were waiting for him to finally give in, to realize he had done his duty and separated Voldemort from his wand, defeating him once and for all, and to finally go to them where he belonged...
He could feel the weight of his arms drooping to his sides. The coldness was disappearing, but he didn't feel warm. He felt nothing, like he was numb. The voice was growing quieter as he grew weaker, he was so tired. It was time to give in...
"Harry!"
The sudden sound echoed against the empty non existant walls. It was far away but loud enough to bring the coldness and feeling back, the sensation of awareness and reality.
Harry could feel his eyes more heavy than he remembered them being, but slowly he lifted them open. Again he was greeted by the darkness...an empty vacuum of space that only made him relive his haunting memories each time he realized where he was. Had it been his imagination? Had he created the voice because he wasn't ready to move on? Could the voice really have been his friend Ron's? He hadn't heard it in so long...
No, it's all in my head. Why would he be here now? Where was he when I was being told everything was my fault...when Sirius told me to stay at the Durlseys?
Harry knew it wasn't real. About a while ago, he wasn't sure how long since time no longer felt important, he had felt a strange light tingling sensation that shivered throughout his body. It had been warm and inviting, different than the cold, dreary space he had been in for so long. It had only been a tiny shimmer of hope though, he convinced himself. It had lasted only five seconds and then the cold and loneliness came back. He remembered he was alone, always alone.
His eyelids felt heavy again as the energy was once again drained from his already weak body. His eyes were almost closed...
"Please...come back!"
Harry's eyes snapped back open, wider than before. Another echoing voice, sounding similar to Hermione's when she was pleading with Ron and him to study, only it sounded louder than the last voice. He shook his head, clearing his mind again so he wasn't thinking of anything, only his peace and quiet. It was getting harder, especially since he wasn't used to just thinking of himself. It was strange though...the cold voice he had heard from the beginning was gone, or at least he couldn't hear it.
He held his legs closer to his body so he could again fall asleep, but he was awake now. He didn't feel he had the strength to move but his eyes didn't want to close. It was as if, even through all the hardtimes and pain, the feeling of always being misunderstood even by his friends and family, he wanted to hear them. He wanted to forget all the horrible memories and sit in the comfy chair in front of the common room fireplace, eat the delicious food in the Great Hall, fly through the air on his new broom—
"You don't deserve the fake happiness they give you! They always want to take your happiness away!" the cold voice came back, not as strong as before, but still loud.
Harry hadn't realized he was standing up now, almost expecting the darkenss to disappear. The faint smile on his face faded as the dark memories started coming back, as they always did after he heard the voice. He could see Cedric's dead, blank eyes looking up at him, the jealous, disgusted look Ron gave him when Ron told him he only wanted attention, Dumbledore's rigid face as he looked away, not wanting to lock gazes with him, only ignore him as if he didn't exist...
Then it was gone, and he wasn't tired. He was breathing deeply, almost as though he had run a long way and he felt more vulnerable standing in the dark waiting for his friends to call him. Was he dreaming? Stumbling forward, dragging his feet he walked out, trying to see if they were going to call him again. It wasn't his imagination...was it? He had been alone for so long that he missed the feeling of being in their presence. When the voices didn't come back Harry shivered and collapsed where he was. He could feel his eyes watering but he couldn't cry.
"You're worthless...," the cold voice hissed close enough that it sounded like it was next to his ear. "Rest...Give in...There's no reason to fight. No one loves you, you're all alone like you have always been..."
"Their comfort was all a lie," Harry whispered, finishing the last sentence the voice continued to say.
"No one loves you..," the voice hissed.
Harry shivered again and closed his eyes.
"Harry don't die! You can't die, I won't let you!"
Harry jumped up suddenly with a burst of energy he didn't know he had.
"Sirius!" Harry shouted into the darkness. Now it was his Godfather. They loved him, he knew it...he could feel it. Sirius did care...He always had.
A smile crept onto Harry's face as he closed his eyes remembering how Sirius had come to watch him play Quidditch, risking his own life to do so. How he visited Harry in the fire giving him suggestions on how to approach the tasks of the Triwizard Tournament. Sirius always tried to be there despite the risks of being seen and sent to Azkaban, or worse...given a kiss from a Dementor like Fudge had wanted.
"Sirius, I'm here!" Harry shouted looking up into the darkness.
"Harry!" this time it was Remus' voice.
The voices were beginning to grow louder. He could almost feel them nearby. The cold voice had been covered up by the sounds of the people he cared about.
"Please Harry!" Hermione's voice echoed loudly.
"What about Quidditch, don't desert me!" Ron's voice bellowed.
"Harry, wake up! For me, for your parents...for everyone!" Sirius' voice pleaded.
Harry again had tears in his eyes but from relief and happiness he now felt. His friends cared about him, they all did. Maybe he was the one to misunderstand them.
"Help me!" Harry screamed. "I want out! I want to be with you again! GET ME OUT!"
The moment Harry's scream rang out among the dark and cold a small glistening light appeared above him, a short distance away. Slowly, but surely Harry began jogging toward it, at first with a limp but getting stronger with each step. The light was getting bigger as he got closer. He had to keep running. The shadows around him lashed out hungrily, wanting him to stay there in the darkness, but he wouldn't. His friends needed him. Sirius needed him.
Suddenly he heard a soft hissing. At first he thought it was the cold voice again...maybe it was. Whatever it was, it didn't sound happy.
Harry ran closer and closer feeling as if he could reach out and touch the light. He jumped up, using his Quidditch instincts he trusted so well, out of the grasps of the darkness. He reached his hand up to the light, the feeling of warmth, love and happiness within his grasp. Before he had even touched it he knew he was not alone anymore.
TO BE CONTINUED...