Disclaimer : I don't own anything you recognize. But anything you don't recognize, I do own, so eh. All the main characters are JKR's, but some of the minor ones, and the plot belong to me. So MWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Note : Okay...If you don't get a few clues from the first chapter...This is a very dark story. This isn't one of those L/J fics where they're like, "I don't like you," and two seconds later, "I love you let's go make out." Seriously, you don't get any Lily and James action for a long time. You'll see why at the end of the chapter. And there's lots of action and adventure in later chapters, but the first few are just setting up the plot. But don't worry! If you've read any of my other stories, you'll know that I am a hopeless romantic. You'll get your romance, have no fear. So...Read away m'dears.
*~* A Swiftly Beating Heart *~*
Chapter 1
Lily burst into the dormitory, breathing hard, and glanced around. She sighed in relief that none of her roommates were up there yet. The note had come just before dinner had ended, and they would be up soon. She had to get away before they saw her, or else they would know that she was up to something. Dumbledore would, without a doubt, be clever enough to think something up to keep them there, but Lily didn't want to run into the professor either. She wasn't sure why, but every time she was around Dumbledore, she felt terribly shy, though she did not act it.
Pushing these thoughts aside, Lily ran to her trunk, quickly unfastening her robes and removing her shirt, tie, vest, skirt, stockings, socks, and shoes. She pulled on a sports bra, a black sleeveless shirt, long black pants, and black dragon-hide boots. After lacing them tightly, she ran to the mirror. She pulled her long hair quickly into a high ponytail that glinted gold in the dim light of the room. Then, she rummaged in her robes for the note. After reading it several times, she tore it up and tossed it away, and then went to the window.
The freezing night air hit her and turned her skin to gooseflesh as the window slammed open. A winter storm was coming, she could tell that much. On second thought, she grabbed her black woolen cloak and fastened it around her throat. Then, leaning out the window, Lily opened her mouth and deep from her chest came a mournful, frightening cry.
She gazed up at the clouds, which were dark gray, lined with pale silver from the hidden moon. Soon, a dark shadow swept over them and began to descend towards the window. Lily called again for it, and soon it hovered before her at a perfect height.
It was a beautiful creature, really. It was dark gray, almost black, glistening silver along its well-muscled flanks. It had a long snout, and navy eyes flecked with gray. Its mane and tail were black as the shadows of the night, and from just below its shoulders sprouted two wings, eight feet long, ebony, powerful. The creature was fierce, deadly, its hooves glinting shadow fire. It obeyed only its master, and replied only to her call.
"Livalin," Lily said, before carefully sitting on the broad windowsill, and then swinging her legs over the side. Looking down was enough to make her stomach jump to her throat, but she knew that if she fell, Livalin would catch her. Still, Lily sat uneasily. Until she had slid one leg over the horse and had a firm hold of the black velvet reins that extended from a silver bit in the horse's mouth, she was nervous.
Lily reached back, and snapped the window shut. The dark shadow had just cleared the light of the glowing window, when the dormitory door opened and the other girls walked in.
Livalin turned northward, towards the tall mountain range behind the castle. Hogwarts rested on the crest of the first real mountain of the extensive range, a glittering point on a segment of darkness. Soon, Lily and Livalin were engulfed in fog, and though Lily's emerald eyes could not pierce it, she had more than faith in Livalin's incredible vision.
Which was lucky, because Lily had to think. The call had been most unexpected. Last time she had checked, the Death Eaters had retreated from their lairs in the mountains. The Aurors from the ministry and the Death Eaters had had an enormous battle that had shook the roots of the mountains, causing avalanches, earthquakes and a fire that was luckily quenched just outside the nearest Muggle village, but that had left the air smoky and unbreathable for days. Finally, an early autumn breeze soon picked up and carried the smoke away.
Thinking of this reminded Lily of the storm that seemed to be coming. Around them, the fog was now in tatters and strands, the rocky ridges streaked with white were becoming clearer below them. Livalin would not be seen at night, as he was little more than a shadow himself, however, Lily thought it was best to be cautious. She cast an invisibility spell around them.
Soon, Lily saw only a little ways ahead the giant circle of mountains that surrounded a lake. As Livalin broached the ridges, he slowed his swiftly beating wings and hovered a little, so that Lily could examine the setting. As far as she could tell, no one was prowling the edges of the lake, nor the woods on the upwards slopes that led to the sheer, impassable cliffs that made the lake a perfect hide-out for the Death Eaters. The northern side was carved from the largest mountain on the range, and from it poured an enormous waterfall that fed the lake.
"Down there," Lily raised her voice above the howling wind, which was whipping about them wildly.
Livalin descended slowly to a clump of trees along the eastern side of the lake, about a hundred yards from the falls, which were roaring loudly. The sound echoed loudly around the enormous crater, deadened slightly in the woods, but Lily was close enough to hear them well. She dismounted, and pulled out her wand from her pocket. The woods were a bit stuffy, so she fumbled with the clasp of her cloak.
"Damn it!" She muttered as the clasp caught on her hair. She tugged, and it came loose, but not without pulling several long strands of auburn tresses from her head.
Walking silently and stealthily, close to the ground, Lily advanced towards the falls. She stopped occasionally, listening for voices, but heard nothing. The roaring got increasingly louder, and soon the air became cool and silvery with mist.
The thick trees ended abruptly. She was standing on the gently sloping bank of a stream. The falls descended from four hundred feet above in a veil of black water and silver mist. Before stepping onto the muddy bank, she examined it. No footprints. So the damn fools had finally got themselves some brains. Carefully, carefully, she moved towards the waterfall, making sure to walk in the soft clover that grew at the edge of the woods. She came to the side of the falls, and the smooth mountain side that rose up above her. Glancing at the clouds, Lily saw that the storm was not long in coming, and that, though the crater was still, outside, the world must be in a torrent of wind.
Lily pressed herself up against the cliff face, not drawing back at the cold surface, and slowly slid along it. She slipped behind the falls. Inside, was a large pool, though quieter than the torrent stream outside, surrounded by a rocky bank. Lily walked along it carefully, until she came to the other side, and was faced with eight passageways. Without even bothering to puzzle over it, she selected the one second from the left. She had been in these caves so many times that she knew them by heart, and she knew where they kept their prisoners.
The passageway was narrow, dark, dripping with moisture, and very quiet. Lucky the ground was smooth, otherwise they would hear her for sure.
Down, down, down, the passage went, then it dropped steeply into a winding staircase of roughly-hewn steps.
Suddenly, she stopped. There were voices, and heavy footsteps, the swish of long cloaks, and a faint light.
"...Hopefully this works..."
"I hope he didn't send one of his deputies...Real thing..."
"...Eviensir..."
Lily didn't bother to listen to what they were saying. She put her arms straight out from her sides, so that her palms pressed against the wall, and did the same with the balls of her feet. As nimbly and quickly as a spider, she scaled the high walls until she was up against the ceiling. The voices were coming closer.
"I don't know if he'll fall for it, though..."
"...Old man, he's getting stupid. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let us get him."
"True, but you never know Dumbledore. If we could just pry his mouth open and get some information out of him."
So it was Dumbledore they wanted. Lily felt a little smug and proud of her Headmaster. Well, he had sent one of his deputies. So, too bad for them.
The two Death Eaters passed below her, thankfully, because she was beginning to shake. At the top of the steps, they turned around, and held the torch they bore high. But they saw nothing, and so continued on their way. Lily lowered herself, dropped the last six feet to the steps, and continued down, faster now, for something like dread was beginning to grow in her stomach.
At last, she came to the bottom of the steps. The straight hallway extended before her, so familiar, lit with one torch. She didn't bother to take it, but ran down the hall until she reached a doorway. Lily pulled out her wand, whispered an enchantment, and the door opened silently.
A pale rectangle of yellowish light poured into the room. A foul odor hit Lily's nose, but she ignored it. In the middle of the room, he hung, his wild black hair about his face, which looked terribly pale. He was hanging by an iron collar around his neck, and a chain on the right and left, and one in the back. Well, more specifically, he was suspended. He also had fetters, and so his legs were pulled back, so that he was suspended in the air at a forty-five degree angle, his arms out on either side of him. Posted in the ground below him and just inches away from his heart, was a spear.
"A fine lot you've gotten yourself into," Lily whispered fiercely.
He looked up, his dark eyes clouded, his mouth hanging slack. He looked poisoned.
"Great."
Lily strode forward, seized the spear and wrenched it out of the ground. She used her wand to undo the chains, the fetters, and the cuffs. He dropped to the ground in a heap of dirty clothes and moaned, a moan that was little more than a whisper.
Lily cast a spell on him, and then heaved him up over her shoulders, for he was as light as a feather. She locked the door behind them, and hurried up the steps.
They were getting along quite well, and even made it up the first passageway, until they came to the pool behind the falls. They emerged from their passageway at the same time a dispatch of guards emerged from the far right one. Before Lily could disappear back into the passage, they spotted her.
"It's her!" One of them exclaimed.
Lily pointed her wand and yelled something, she wasn't quite sure what, but she knew it was some sort of hex. Then, she sprinted madly across the pool, splashing through the water, trying to glance over her shoulder to dodge curses and trying to watch ahead so that she didn't trip. She got as far as the falls before she fell as something burning hot and coming at a great speed hit her right calf. Lily stumbled, and he dropped off her shoulders. The Death Eaters were splashing through the water towards her.
Gritting her teeth and trying to ignore the stabbing pain in her leg, as well as the steady flow of liquid from the spot to her ankle that she knew was not water, Lily hoisted him onto her shoulders again, and dashed through the falls.
Soon enough, she was in the woods, but her leg was throbbing and Livalin was still a good ways away. She could hear the Death Eaters coming closer. She dropped to her knees in a little grove of shrubs, threw back her head, and called Livalin to her.
Immediately, lights came to life all over the ride of the crater, and all through the woods. They knew she was there. Lily felt a surge of pride at the thought that she had evaded them all. They feared the cry. But before she had fully processed this thought, Livalin was there, flowing shadow, at her side. The Death Eaters were crashing through the brush behind her. Lily hoisted the near-dead boy onto Livalin's back, and then pulled herself up behind him, and seized the reins.
"Go, Livalin, go!" She cried.
With one beat of his enormous wings, he rose, powerful, mighty. Dodging the green, red, and violet sparks and rays of curses from all directions, he soared.
"Faster, Livalin, we have to get to Hogwarts or he'll die!"
At that moment, a great white light split in the sky, and sheets of freezing rain poured down on them. Livalin was not hindered, but only flew faster, for the wind was going southward, towards the castle, and bore them on it.
Lily soon spotted the glowing specks that were the castle lights. Livalin landed on the front steps, and Lily dismounted, carrying him with her. Livalin disappeared with a crack of lightning and a roll of thunder. The lightning bolts were splitting right there on the front lawn, and Lily was soaked to the skin.
With what little strength she had remaining, for everything was beginning to look very gray to her, as if she was in a world of shadows, Lily wrenched the front door open, and the two students collapsed in the entrance hall, in a pool of rain and blood. An astounded cry came form the staircase, and many feet hurried over to them. Through the shadows that were blocking her vision, Lily saw Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Madame Pomfrey. Dumbledore was saying something, but it reached her brain slowly, and the words sounded blurred. Through it all, though, she felt someone take her hand. The pounding in her ears cleared a little.
"You came for me," He whispered.
Lily gave his hand the tiniest of squeezes.
Through the blood that was gathering in her mouth, she whispered back, "I would have done it if I had to face a thousand of them alone, Severus."
"You let her get away, as well as the prisoner," Lord Voldemort hissed, his red eyes flaring, "Her and the prisoner. We could have used his death as an incetive to make Dumbledore hand her over."
"Not entirely, my lord," Lucius Malfoy kneeled slightly. He was holding, folded in his arms, a dark length of material, "We found this, about a hundred yards from the falls."
"What is it? A cloak? Is it marked with a name?"
"No, but I know who it is, nonetheless, my lord. I only graduated from Hogwarts two years ago, and there was only one girl there who could possibly own this cloak."
"How do you know?"
"These."
Lucius held out his hand, and dropped into Lord Voldemort's extended palm four long strands of auburn hair, glinting gold in the torch light.
~~~~
There it is! Now review!
Note : Okay...If you don't get a few clues from the first chapter...This is a very dark story. This isn't one of those L/J fics where they're like, "I don't like you," and two seconds later, "I love you let's go make out." Seriously, you don't get any Lily and James action for a long time. You'll see why at the end of the chapter. And there's lots of action and adventure in later chapters, but the first few are just setting up the plot. But don't worry! If you've read any of my other stories, you'll know that I am a hopeless romantic. You'll get your romance, have no fear. So...Read away m'dears.
*~* A Swiftly Beating Heart *~*
Chapter 1
Lily burst into the dormitory, breathing hard, and glanced around. She sighed in relief that none of her roommates were up there yet. The note had come just before dinner had ended, and they would be up soon. She had to get away before they saw her, or else they would know that she was up to something. Dumbledore would, without a doubt, be clever enough to think something up to keep them there, but Lily didn't want to run into the professor either. She wasn't sure why, but every time she was around Dumbledore, she felt terribly shy, though she did not act it.
Pushing these thoughts aside, Lily ran to her trunk, quickly unfastening her robes and removing her shirt, tie, vest, skirt, stockings, socks, and shoes. She pulled on a sports bra, a black sleeveless shirt, long black pants, and black dragon-hide boots. After lacing them tightly, she ran to the mirror. She pulled her long hair quickly into a high ponytail that glinted gold in the dim light of the room. Then, she rummaged in her robes for the note. After reading it several times, she tore it up and tossed it away, and then went to the window.
The freezing night air hit her and turned her skin to gooseflesh as the window slammed open. A winter storm was coming, she could tell that much. On second thought, she grabbed her black woolen cloak and fastened it around her throat. Then, leaning out the window, Lily opened her mouth and deep from her chest came a mournful, frightening cry.
She gazed up at the clouds, which were dark gray, lined with pale silver from the hidden moon. Soon, a dark shadow swept over them and began to descend towards the window. Lily called again for it, and soon it hovered before her at a perfect height.
It was a beautiful creature, really. It was dark gray, almost black, glistening silver along its well-muscled flanks. It had a long snout, and navy eyes flecked with gray. Its mane and tail were black as the shadows of the night, and from just below its shoulders sprouted two wings, eight feet long, ebony, powerful. The creature was fierce, deadly, its hooves glinting shadow fire. It obeyed only its master, and replied only to her call.
"Livalin," Lily said, before carefully sitting on the broad windowsill, and then swinging her legs over the side. Looking down was enough to make her stomach jump to her throat, but she knew that if she fell, Livalin would catch her. Still, Lily sat uneasily. Until she had slid one leg over the horse and had a firm hold of the black velvet reins that extended from a silver bit in the horse's mouth, she was nervous.
Lily reached back, and snapped the window shut. The dark shadow had just cleared the light of the glowing window, when the dormitory door opened and the other girls walked in.
Livalin turned northward, towards the tall mountain range behind the castle. Hogwarts rested on the crest of the first real mountain of the extensive range, a glittering point on a segment of darkness. Soon, Lily and Livalin were engulfed in fog, and though Lily's emerald eyes could not pierce it, she had more than faith in Livalin's incredible vision.
Which was lucky, because Lily had to think. The call had been most unexpected. Last time she had checked, the Death Eaters had retreated from their lairs in the mountains. The Aurors from the ministry and the Death Eaters had had an enormous battle that had shook the roots of the mountains, causing avalanches, earthquakes and a fire that was luckily quenched just outside the nearest Muggle village, but that had left the air smoky and unbreathable for days. Finally, an early autumn breeze soon picked up and carried the smoke away.
Thinking of this reminded Lily of the storm that seemed to be coming. Around them, the fog was now in tatters and strands, the rocky ridges streaked with white were becoming clearer below them. Livalin would not be seen at night, as he was little more than a shadow himself, however, Lily thought it was best to be cautious. She cast an invisibility spell around them.
Soon, Lily saw only a little ways ahead the giant circle of mountains that surrounded a lake. As Livalin broached the ridges, he slowed his swiftly beating wings and hovered a little, so that Lily could examine the setting. As far as she could tell, no one was prowling the edges of the lake, nor the woods on the upwards slopes that led to the sheer, impassable cliffs that made the lake a perfect hide-out for the Death Eaters. The northern side was carved from the largest mountain on the range, and from it poured an enormous waterfall that fed the lake.
"Down there," Lily raised her voice above the howling wind, which was whipping about them wildly.
Livalin descended slowly to a clump of trees along the eastern side of the lake, about a hundred yards from the falls, which were roaring loudly. The sound echoed loudly around the enormous crater, deadened slightly in the woods, but Lily was close enough to hear them well. She dismounted, and pulled out her wand from her pocket. The woods were a bit stuffy, so she fumbled with the clasp of her cloak.
"Damn it!" She muttered as the clasp caught on her hair. She tugged, and it came loose, but not without pulling several long strands of auburn tresses from her head.
Walking silently and stealthily, close to the ground, Lily advanced towards the falls. She stopped occasionally, listening for voices, but heard nothing. The roaring got increasingly louder, and soon the air became cool and silvery with mist.
The thick trees ended abruptly. She was standing on the gently sloping bank of a stream. The falls descended from four hundred feet above in a veil of black water and silver mist. Before stepping onto the muddy bank, she examined it. No footprints. So the damn fools had finally got themselves some brains. Carefully, carefully, she moved towards the waterfall, making sure to walk in the soft clover that grew at the edge of the woods. She came to the side of the falls, and the smooth mountain side that rose up above her. Glancing at the clouds, Lily saw that the storm was not long in coming, and that, though the crater was still, outside, the world must be in a torrent of wind.
Lily pressed herself up against the cliff face, not drawing back at the cold surface, and slowly slid along it. She slipped behind the falls. Inside, was a large pool, though quieter than the torrent stream outside, surrounded by a rocky bank. Lily walked along it carefully, until she came to the other side, and was faced with eight passageways. Without even bothering to puzzle over it, she selected the one second from the left. She had been in these caves so many times that she knew them by heart, and she knew where they kept their prisoners.
The passageway was narrow, dark, dripping with moisture, and very quiet. Lucky the ground was smooth, otherwise they would hear her for sure.
Down, down, down, the passage went, then it dropped steeply into a winding staircase of roughly-hewn steps.
Suddenly, she stopped. There were voices, and heavy footsteps, the swish of long cloaks, and a faint light.
"...Hopefully this works..."
"I hope he didn't send one of his deputies...Real thing..."
"...Eviensir..."
Lily didn't bother to listen to what they were saying. She put her arms straight out from her sides, so that her palms pressed against the wall, and did the same with the balls of her feet. As nimbly and quickly as a spider, she scaled the high walls until she was up against the ceiling. The voices were coming closer.
"I don't know if he'll fall for it, though..."
"...Old man, he's getting stupid. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let us get him."
"True, but you never know Dumbledore. If we could just pry his mouth open and get some information out of him."
So it was Dumbledore they wanted. Lily felt a little smug and proud of her Headmaster. Well, he had sent one of his deputies. So, too bad for them.
The two Death Eaters passed below her, thankfully, because she was beginning to shake. At the top of the steps, they turned around, and held the torch they bore high. But they saw nothing, and so continued on their way. Lily lowered herself, dropped the last six feet to the steps, and continued down, faster now, for something like dread was beginning to grow in her stomach.
At last, she came to the bottom of the steps. The straight hallway extended before her, so familiar, lit with one torch. She didn't bother to take it, but ran down the hall until she reached a doorway. Lily pulled out her wand, whispered an enchantment, and the door opened silently.
A pale rectangle of yellowish light poured into the room. A foul odor hit Lily's nose, but she ignored it. In the middle of the room, he hung, his wild black hair about his face, which looked terribly pale. He was hanging by an iron collar around his neck, and a chain on the right and left, and one in the back. Well, more specifically, he was suspended. He also had fetters, and so his legs were pulled back, so that he was suspended in the air at a forty-five degree angle, his arms out on either side of him. Posted in the ground below him and just inches away from his heart, was a spear.
"A fine lot you've gotten yourself into," Lily whispered fiercely.
He looked up, his dark eyes clouded, his mouth hanging slack. He looked poisoned.
"Great."
Lily strode forward, seized the spear and wrenched it out of the ground. She used her wand to undo the chains, the fetters, and the cuffs. He dropped to the ground in a heap of dirty clothes and moaned, a moan that was little more than a whisper.
Lily cast a spell on him, and then heaved him up over her shoulders, for he was as light as a feather. She locked the door behind them, and hurried up the steps.
They were getting along quite well, and even made it up the first passageway, until they came to the pool behind the falls. They emerged from their passageway at the same time a dispatch of guards emerged from the far right one. Before Lily could disappear back into the passage, they spotted her.
"It's her!" One of them exclaimed.
Lily pointed her wand and yelled something, she wasn't quite sure what, but she knew it was some sort of hex. Then, she sprinted madly across the pool, splashing through the water, trying to glance over her shoulder to dodge curses and trying to watch ahead so that she didn't trip. She got as far as the falls before she fell as something burning hot and coming at a great speed hit her right calf. Lily stumbled, and he dropped off her shoulders. The Death Eaters were splashing through the water towards her.
Gritting her teeth and trying to ignore the stabbing pain in her leg, as well as the steady flow of liquid from the spot to her ankle that she knew was not water, Lily hoisted him onto her shoulders again, and dashed through the falls.
Soon enough, she was in the woods, but her leg was throbbing and Livalin was still a good ways away. She could hear the Death Eaters coming closer. She dropped to her knees in a little grove of shrubs, threw back her head, and called Livalin to her.
Immediately, lights came to life all over the ride of the crater, and all through the woods. They knew she was there. Lily felt a surge of pride at the thought that she had evaded them all. They feared the cry. But before she had fully processed this thought, Livalin was there, flowing shadow, at her side. The Death Eaters were crashing through the brush behind her. Lily hoisted the near-dead boy onto Livalin's back, and then pulled herself up behind him, and seized the reins.
"Go, Livalin, go!" She cried.
With one beat of his enormous wings, he rose, powerful, mighty. Dodging the green, red, and violet sparks and rays of curses from all directions, he soared.
"Faster, Livalin, we have to get to Hogwarts or he'll die!"
At that moment, a great white light split in the sky, and sheets of freezing rain poured down on them. Livalin was not hindered, but only flew faster, for the wind was going southward, towards the castle, and bore them on it.
Lily soon spotted the glowing specks that were the castle lights. Livalin landed on the front steps, and Lily dismounted, carrying him with her. Livalin disappeared with a crack of lightning and a roll of thunder. The lightning bolts were splitting right there on the front lawn, and Lily was soaked to the skin.
With what little strength she had remaining, for everything was beginning to look very gray to her, as if she was in a world of shadows, Lily wrenched the front door open, and the two students collapsed in the entrance hall, in a pool of rain and blood. An astounded cry came form the staircase, and many feet hurried over to them. Through the shadows that were blocking her vision, Lily saw Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Madame Pomfrey. Dumbledore was saying something, but it reached her brain slowly, and the words sounded blurred. Through it all, though, she felt someone take her hand. The pounding in her ears cleared a little.
"You came for me," He whispered.
Lily gave his hand the tiniest of squeezes.
Through the blood that was gathering in her mouth, she whispered back, "I would have done it if I had to face a thousand of them alone, Severus."
"You let her get away, as well as the prisoner," Lord Voldemort hissed, his red eyes flaring, "Her and the prisoner. We could have used his death as an incetive to make Dumbledore hand her over."
"Not entirely, my lord," Lucius Malfoy kneeled slightly. He was holding, folded in his arms, a dark length of material, "We found this, about a hundred yards from the falls."
"What is it? A cloak? Is it marked with a name?"
"No, but I know who it is, nonetheless, my lord. I only graduated from Hogwarts two years ago, and there was only one girl there who could possibly own this cloak."
"How do you know?"
"These."
Lucius held out his hand, and dropped into Lord Voldemort's extended palm four long strands of auburn hair, glinting gold in the torch light.
~~~~
There it is! Now review!