DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 24: Lost To Betrayal

16th January 1992

It had been over three months since the reappearance of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin to the Wizarding World and as of yet the Ministry hadn't made one progress into finding them let alone capturing them. The public were growing more restless by the day and they thought they had good reason, random attacks on Muggles were starting again and the Dark Mark was seen increasingly more, inspiring terror that hadn't been experienced for years. It was a double blow for the Ministry that Harry Potter, conqueror of Voldemort had also disappeared into nothingness. From what the Ministry had gathered the boy had gone and become a fugitive with his murderer of a Godfather and the Werewolf. This led to morale in the Wizarding World being rock bottom and as the storm clouds hovered in the horizon people were questioning whether or not the Light side could survive the upcoming battle.

Yet not one of these people in the Wizarding Community knew the truth, even the ones that thought themselves knowledgeable about these matters. Only Albus Dumbledore knew the truth about the situation. The wise Headmaster of Hogwarts; surely people listened to him? Not only did they ignore the Leader of the Light and Defeater of Grindewald but the Minister himself scoffed at the words of the illustrious man even forcing him out of some of the positions that he held around the world, going as far as to threaten him with Azkaban if he kept sprouting such nonsense in public. Luckily the Minister had no chance of ejecting Dumbledore from Hogwarts so the school was still safe…for now.

While the Wizarding World was in denial however there were three people that hadn't stopped preparing for the inevitable. Holed up in the Shrieking Shack for their safety, Sirius, Remus and Harry were training harder than ever both magically and physically but there was still the feeling that it was too little to late. But this didn't mean that they would give up. On the contrary, if you asked any one of them what they would do to rid the world of evil and you would get the same answer: anything.

At the current moment in time however, the trio were having a conversation that they had had many times, well Remus was berating Sirius who had apologised profusely but it didn't seem to satisfy the Werewolf.

"I can't believe that you could have been so stupid Padfoot, what were you thinking!" Remus rhetorically asked but Sirius answered anyway.

"I have already told you, I needed to keep their attention on me and bide myself some time till I could think up a plan." Sirius said exasperated with a hint of anger in his voice.

Remus's expression softened a bit but he pressed on; "Couldn't you have said something else, what chance have you got now of being pardoned."

At this statement Sirius stiffened slightly and Remus immediately realised that he had maybe pushed the Animagus a tad bit too far.

"What did you want me to do Moony? Say wait a minute please highly trained and dangerous Aurors while I think of something to say that will bide some time for me to think up a plan and let Remus and Harry escape. God dammit Remus, there are more important things to think about than this, please drop it." Sirius ended his rant with a plea full of lethargy; everything that had happened in a few short months had taken a lot out of Sirius especially.

Harry just vaguely kept with the conversation whilst reading an Advanced Defence textbook. Or that was what it looked like to Remus and Sirius. Truth be told, Harry was reading a book on some of the more obscure not to mention dangerous branches of magic that existed. Ever since he had stumbled across a book in the library that listed these magic's, Harry had been intrigued and had become obsessed with learning about them. He felt that he had a duty to protect Remus and Sirius as it was to him, his fault for making them the most wanted men in the Wizarding World. So any free time he had at Hogwarts involved him in the library reading a book from the Restricted Section. Obviously the book was enchanted to look like a simple Defence book otherwise the Librarian would have skinned him alive.

Harry's scar had not hurt much lately which was a good sign because since the re-birth of Voldemort he had been having a dull headaches and an occasional burst of pain but nothing too serious. He hadn't told anybody as Dumbledore would ask too many questions while Sirius and Remus would confide him to his bed indefinitely and he would miss out on all the action and that would be no fun.

An uncomfortable silence had settled in the room but thankfully it was broken after a few minutes when in a flash of red and gold Fawkes entered the Shack. All jumping to their feet, wands appearing in hands, the three sighed in relief when they saw Fawkes.

Flying briefly over to Harry who give him a quick stroke much to the delight of the so called immortal bird who had taken quite a liking to the boy, Fawkes flew over to Sirius and offered him the message that was tied to his leg just as well as any post owl would.

Unrolling the message and breaking the seal quickly, Sirius seemed to read the letter again and again, each time his face paled and his hands shook more before he virtually thrust the note into the now worried face of Remus. Ever the calm one, Remus read the parchment carefully before shaking his head and reading it again. An uncomfortable silence lapsed for a few seconds before Sirius, ever the patient one, spoke his mind.

"No way!" Sirius exclaimed, "What does he want us dead? As soon as they see us it will be bye bye Padfoot and Moony; the old coot has finally lost it!"

Harry was baffled by his Godfathers words and had taken to stroking Fawkes who apparently had been told to wait for a reply of sorts as he had not left and was gazing and Sirius and Remus intently.

Taking a deep breath, Remus sighed heavily, "Padfoot, Albus must have his reasons, we can't do this on our own any more, he's stronger than ever and we both know people are flocking to him by the day, they will understand."

Sirius cursed loudly, "Sure Moony, you mean like they did a decade ago, they sure stuck by us and believed us, I say we ignore it." Sirius gestured to the letter that lay on the tabletop.

"We can't Padfoot, look Dumbledore won't let anything happen to us, and after all he is the one that is inviting us. What have we got to lose?" Remus asked his friend.

Sirius grumbled something incoherent, before retorting, "What about Harry? It says to bring him with us, what is he going to do? The Ministry want him so he can't exactly go walking round Hogwarts and he is definitely not coming with us?"

Remus muttered something about mangy dogs and killing curses before finally saying in a voice full of determination and authority; "Look Padfoot, I don't like it but we each have our emergency Portkey and our wands, lets just go now."

"What are you talking about?" Harry finally had enough of being ignored and just as he thought, both Sirius and Remus jumped, having forgotten that he was in the room.

"We have to go to Hogwarts for a meeting with Albus Harry and he said to bring you, is that okay?" Remus asked politely.

Harry's eyes lit up at the chance of getting out of the Shack for a while and he might even get a chance to go to the Library for a few books. Nodding his head swiftly, Remus grabbed on to one of Fawkes fathers like Dumbledore said to do in the letter with Harry jumping up and doing the same thing seconds later.

Growling, Sirius glared playfully at the puppy dog faces that Remus and Harry were making and grabbed the Phoenix Tail not before taking his wand out and Harry and Remus followed suit.

With a flash of fire they were gone and the last thing Harry saw was the emblem on the letter and he now knew where they were going:

The Order of the Phoenix was back in action.

With a disorientating flash, the Trio landed where they quickly discerned to be the stairs leading up to Dumbledore's office. Task now completed, Fawkes vanished again, now doubt to tell his companion that his visitors had arrived.

With a deep breath of courage, Sirius and Remus told Harry to stay where he was and they ascended the stairs, making it to the doors to the Headmasters office within seconds but to their surprise they found the doors locked.

Sharing a glance with each other that plainly said that they had never know the doors to be locked before, Remus knocked on the door and heard the slight buzz of noise that was coming from behind the doors cease completely. Then Dumbledore began speaking for around a minute or so before he shouted in his normal courteous tone with a hint of amusement mixed in:

"Come In"

Wearily pushing the door open, Sirius and Remus stepped casually into the room where it seemed the world had frozen for a minute. Obviously Dumbledore had told them something but had failed to mention the actual identities of the people. Then as if a light switch had been flicked back on, it started.

"It's you!!! Stay away you foul creature!"

"Albus what on Earth is the meaning of this?"

"EXPELLO"

"STUPEFY"

These were just some of the many reactions, all unfavourable towards Remus and Sirius who to their due were still standing in the same position as if they entered. Thankfully no of the spells actually flew as Dumbledore had some how summoned every member of the Orders wand without them noticing.

"Silence!" Dumbledore bellowed, "I thought I told you not to be alarmed and that these three people were on the same side as us. Now everyone sit down."

Even Dumbledore's semi-authoritative tones couldn't stop another outburst of noise and hysteria;

"Preposterous"

"Albus, have you finally lost it?"

"They betrayed the Potter's Albus, you can't be serious?"

Dumbledore was furious by now and had stood up from his desk, his anger and irritation rolling off of him like waves. "SILENCE" He shouted and the room that was already silent seemed to shrink back even more. It was in that moment that the new members of the Order realised why Dumbledore was the only person Voldemort ever feared.

When he realised he had everyone's full and undivided attention, Dumbledore sat back down his desk and conjured a teapot before turning to Sirius and Remus and saying "Where is young Harry?"

"He's waiting on the staircase; we didn't think it was altogether safe for him to come up with us. Guess we were right!" Sirius all but spat at the rest of the Order, the majority of still fingering their wands, ready to curse both the men at the drop of a hat.

Dumbledore nodded his head sadly and with a click of his fingers a House-Elf appeared in front of the Headmaster who quickly whispered the creature some things and with a feverish nod the House-Elf disappeared as quickly and silently as it had came.

Remus calmly patted the agitated Sirius on the shoulder and was just about to open his mouth to ask the Headmaster about the point of this meeting but someone beat him to the punch.

"Albus, can you please explain to us the point of this. I know you told us that nice little story before these two arrived but surely you can't be serious. You've seen what they have taught the brat, they can't be trusted anymore than the Dark Lord himself." Snape spat in the most derogative tone he could muster and saying that about the Potions Master was saying something.

Dumbledore looked ten years older at these words and seeing that nearly half of the Order was actually agreeing with him made his blood run cold. Oh how he wished he could turn back the clock but alas, such questions were useless and he knew that. There was only one way to go and that was forward.

"I made a grave error many years ago when James and Lily were killed. Blinded by grief, an old man made a terrible mistake. I know that Sirius and Remus will never be able to forgive me but you people, my allies, you have the chance to remedy some of my failings and succeed where I failed." Dumbledore spoke in such a heavy tone, the weariness and pain in his voice cut deep into many members of the Order who saw, some for the first time that their beloved Leader of the Light was not infallible.

After this announcement talking broke out amongst the Order and as Sirius and Remus looked round the room they witnessed mixed reactions to this statement. Some were looking at them in sorrow and begging for forgiveness, others seemed weary while some looked disbelieving as if what Dumbledore had just said was rubbish.

Seeing that this was going nowhere, Dumbledore looked torn between two options for a few seconds before standing up and saying in a heavy tone.

"That is all there is to be said my friends, hear my words I beg of you. However I know that is all I can ask. If you do believe in the innocence of these two men then we will reconvene in an hour, if your looking for something to do in the meantime then Hogwarts has a good library." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled

A few of the rising Order groaned on reflex to the bane of their school days as the majority of them went away to re-collect their thoughts.

Just over half a dozen wizards and witches remained, mainly ones who Sirius never saw in the Order the first time round. The other ones probably had children, Sirius mused as he thought about why the remainder stayed, especially as they were in disagreement with the views many of their peers held.

Sirius barely heard the Headmaster say something to women called Molly who Sirius vaguely thought to be of relation to the deceased Prewetts who he still held massive amounts of respect for, as they died along with Frank Longbottom for believing his innocence.

The Headmaster fell into a stupor for a second before a resolute expression spread across his ageing features. Looking pensively and disappointedly at the silent Order members who felt like scolded schoolchildren at that instant in time, the Leader of the Light shocked everyone present in the room including a couple of the newer portraits by suddenly waving his hand, wand grasped between his fingers as if it had apparated there and saying:

"Obliviate"

The utterly bland look on the face of the Headmaster when he said this contrasting sharply with the looks of betrayal and shock on the Order members the split second they knew what was happening before there mind went blank would stick in Sirius's mind for a long while.

From the looks Remus was giving the Headmaster, Sirius would place Galleons on the fact that the Werewolf was just as shocked as he was and also just as unprepared when in the same movement Dumbledore flicked his wand and the two of them became invisible.

Marvelling silently at the power the old man still held, Sirius fumed slightly at the Headmaster and his not telling of what he was about to do. However if Dumbledore felt uneasy with the situation he didn't show one ounce of it as he addressed the now dazed Order members in front of him.

"Thank you all for coming, that will be all that is needed tonight. Your patience has been appreciated and all of you have my full support in your task of finding new members for the Order. Just remember to vet them thoroughly and gain as much information as you can. Apart from that, have a pleasant evening." Dumbledore told the members in his best grandfatherly tone.

The Order members seemed to be embarrassed as if they thought they had fallen asleep and left the Headmasters office as quickly as they could without losing their dignity and using magic.

Chuckling softly Dumbledore quickly cancelled the spell and acting as nothing had happened and he hadn't just illegally memory charmed over half a dozen people, chatting mindlessly with Sirius and Remus until the rest of the Order began filing back in.

Without the presence of the people who disbelieved Sirius and Remus and their innocence, the meeting went much smoother with only suspicious glances being thrown now and again but it was truthfully to be expected considering most people in the room had considered Sirius to be the most evil wizard in Great Britain.

From intelligence submitted by two or three members including one from Snape, who Sirius glared at from the first second he re-entered the room despite the constant prodding he received from Remus, it was soon apparent to Remus if not the sometimes juvenile Sirius that these reports were the reason why himself and Sirius were invited back to the Order prematurely for lack of a better term.

It appeared that after much digging and help from Snape, the Order had found the location of a supposed safe house of the Dark Lord's that had just been set up and as a result had yet to be properly warded as in only the building itself had been done not the grounds which only had one ward at the moment in time. The problem was that none of the Order was really suited for the task as it involved listening to the Death Eaters plans but as the nearest cover was 50 foot from the front door, it would take amplified hearing of which Remus possessed, plus the fact that the wards only recognised humans so Remus and Sirius in his Animagus form could pass through the wards where no other member of the Order could.

After much discussion and pleading from Dumbledore, Remus and Sirius agreed reluctantly though they insisted that Harry stay at the Shack and not come with them, he was too young after all to be put in such dangerous surroundings despite his abilities.

After the rest of the Order had taken their leave, Dumbledore briefed Sirius and Remus fully on the situation showing them estimated plans of the building and all known wards and cover areas. With an emergency Portkey each, it seemed a very simple mission for the two of them but they knew that they were the ones who could do the task best, mundane or not.

They didn't know how wrong they were going to be proven.

17th January 1992

Harry settled down after taking a long shower, content to be lazy for once and rest for the night. With Sirius and Remus gone on their mission about an hour ago, Harry knew that they wouldn't be back for at least another couple. He began to reach for his book when he felt something was wrong, the hairs on his neck were on end and he could swear he could taste something wrong within the air. Not liking the feeling one bit, Harry jumped to his feet and drawing his wand swiftly, he swept it in a wide circular motion while muttering a brief incantation.

A bright light appeared before Harry's eyes and he knew immediately that his feeling weren't false. The wards that he had set up on his own after studying them recently had been broken quicker than he thought possible. The main wards that Sirius and Remus had set were being broken slowly yet still they would fall soon.

Horror settling in on his young features, Harry could only think of two people that could break the wards so quickly and he was sure that Dumbledore would use a more convenient way to enter. So the only person left it could be:

Voldemort had come.

Survival instincts kicking in right way, Harry spun on his heels and started to make his way quickly across the room to where the tunnel back to Hogwarts led when an almighty crash resounded through the room and many footsteps echoed on the hard floor.

"Running like a coward, your Mudblood loving parents would be proud to know that there son is exactly the same as them!" A hypnotic silky voice, snake like in pronunciation echoed through the room.

Fuming, Harry knew there was no escape now and spun on his heels and almost gasped at the sight before him. The once man Voldemort now resembled an indescribable creature, half human, half demon, his red eyes even more bright than Harry's own shocking green.

Harry's instincts and years of training kicked in and he quickly surveyed the room. He knew there was no way he could have apparated out, he still felt the wards in place and he didn't know how to make a Portkey. Shaking his head Harry knew he couldn't dither. The room was now occupied by about ten Death Eaters who were flanking Voldemort looking thoroughly bored at the seemingly easy task. Taking note of this, Harry spun on his heels quicker than most thought possible, wand flying to his hand as his mouth opened to bellow:

"Reducto"

Harry's curse took them all by surprise and sent two Death Eaters flying into a wall, both of them landing hard. By some unspoken command all the remaining Death Eaters piled forward in the small Shack ready to charge and capture the boy who defeated their Master.

Harry wasn't finished though and rolling to his left seeing three curses hit the place where he previously stood he swept his wand in a tight motion and watched amazed at his good fortune as one of his newer learnt Silent Spells took all the Death Eaters feet from under them.

Capitalizing quickly on his luck, Harry starting shouting "Subsisto" again and again into the mangle of limbs on the floor, taking out five more Death Eaters with the more powerful form of the Stunner before the Death Eaters began to regroup. Harry then heard a curse flying through the air and not knowing what the curse was he raised his wand quickly and cried.

"Aegis"

The curse struck the shimmering shield powerfully but the shield held barely wavering before stabilising. Sidestepping a curse, Harry cursed his luck when he saw Voldemort had entered the fore, not too pleased at the beating his Death Eaters were receiving.

Harry quickly sent a Blasting Curse at the nearest Death Eater who at that distance had no chance of successfully blocking, the Curse striking him dead in the face, his mask shattering as he fell leaving the visage of an unconscious Severus Snape staring up at the world.

Shocked, Harry had no time to ponder on his thoughts as the remaining Death Eaters decided to batter him with spells, apparently deciding that it would be easier if they worked as a team. His shield getting weaker and space to dodge getting smaller; Harry decided that he needed to get out of the corner because he soon would be trapped. Waving his hand swiftly and muttering briefly, a small bank of dense fog started appearing, cloaking his positioning.

Concentrating hard, Harry waved his wand and turned invisible and immediately felt the drain on him. Knowing he could only hold the charm for a minute at most before collapsing, Harry managed to make his way to the side of the Death Eaters who were puzzled at where he went, not thinking that he could do a powerful spell as such. Two Death Eaters fell to Paralysing Curses quickly, not knowing where he was though to Harry's dismay Voldemort did and with a wave of his wand, Harry was caught unaware and thrown across the room where he landed hard, his wand rolling from his grasp.

Stars clouding his vision, Harry jumped to his feet hoping to get to is wand but Voldemort had summoned it the instant that it had left his hand. Motioning for his Death Eaters to stand back, Voldemort stepped within twenty feet of Harry whose scar was now prickling uncomfortably.

"Well now that that is over, I think that it is time for you to learn a lesson in manners and respect for your elders..." Voldemort cackled and hissed raising his wand menacingly.

The Dark Lord never got the chance to start what was most probably an Unforgivable when Harry, desperate for survival and the fading hope of being rescued, pulled out a dagger and threw it straight at the Dark Lord from such a distance that there was no way the aging man could have avoided it.

The result of this however was not what Harry had hoped. Instead of him doing damage to Voldemort he did nothing of the sort, the dagger didn't even reach that far, bouncing of an invisible shield before dropping harmlessly to the floor.

Cackling madly, Voldemort raised his wand and without uttering a sound sent Harry flying across the room where he once again clattered into the wall before his brain could even process what was happening.

No longer smiling, Voldemort began to get angry with the whelp of a child in front of him. "Didn't your Mudblood loving godfather teach you any manners because your Mudblood mother certainly didn't the have the chance too. That trick might have worked for him but it won't for you and will never happen again. Black got lucky, you boy won't. Now a little taste of respect is needed I think."

Then with a deft flick of the wand, catching Harry unaware, Voldemort hissed "Imperio"

The curse struck Harry full on knocking him a step backwards on impact. It was a wonderful feeling for Harry, he was carefree, no one hated him, no one thought he was evil and he could just be a normal happy child. A voice resounded in his mind saying "bow to me" and he thought he would comply without question. After all, who would harm him in this heaven like place?

As he was about to do said thing though, a small mouse like voice that sounded like hell itself resounded through the pure air and told him "no", "don't do it". Struggling to comprehend, Harry froze, listening closely for the other voice that he had barely heard. Then it came again telling him the same thing.

"BOW TO ME". The other voice was back again sounded gravely different to what it did last but even the booming power it contained was overshadowed by the voice that Harry recognised now to be his own. So he did, he said no again and again and again until he felt he couldn't scream anymore.

Then as suddenly he left reality, Harry re-entered to the view of a stunned Voldemort and astonished Death Eaters. Being quickest to react, Harry called his second wand to his hand with a thought and cried

"Blasot"

The Blasting Curse was slight off target for Voldemort though it did send another two Death Eaters sprawling, the whole room unaware that Harry had a second wand in his possession.

A split second is only how long the advantage Harry had; unfortunately very few wizards can keep up with an enraged Voldemort but one whose anger was fuelling his magic, let's just say a dozen Hungarian Horntails seemed appealing to Harry at that moment in time.

Curses sizzled without words spoken; Harry was scrambling to raise his shields in time as he took shot after shot from Voldemort and the slower but no less deadly Death Eaters. Shields weakening by the second at a rate that made Harry feel like a squib, desperately trying to think of a miracle that would allow him to escape but he was out of ideas, his sword would be useless against Voldemorts shield and his wandless magic was weaker than his second wand.

Then as soon as Harry's fight back begun, it was over. Tired of playing by the conventions, Voldemort waved his hand in a wide arc sending a red beam flying low at Harry who just managing to jump, got rewarded by getting hit dead in the chest with a Bone Breaking Hex, cracking at least three of his ribs,

Flying backwards to the ground, Harry heard a loud smash vaguely in the background as through double vision he witnessed the injured and unconscious Death Eaters being Portkeyed out.

A red flash was the last thing he saw before blackness overtook him, a loud pain filled shriek the last thing broaching his ever escaping consciousness as the Stunning Curse struck him.

The loud smash that Harry had heard was that of the combined fury of Sirius and Remus tearing down the wards that the Death Eaters had erected like paper, before they burst through the door, Unforgivables on their lips if it meant that Harry would be safe,

But Sirius and Remus just couldn't get their in time, no power on Earth could have stopped Harry's kidnapping despite Sirius's best effort, he still wasn't quick enough and this fact would haunt him to the day he died.

Voldemort had come and he had taken what he sought.

Harry Potter was gone.

AN

Apologies for the delay I haven't had a free minute for about two months now. Damn College is sucking the life out of me, why didn't I just take an easy course? Not to worry, three more chapters probably then it's finished, Christmas hopefully but New Year is the new aim with the 15th of Jan, the one year anniversary being the latest deadline.

I did want to put a part about Sirius and Remus on their little mission in this chapter but I think I'll put it the next as a flashback of sorts, just want to get this posted really.

A few of you have commented on the quote Sirius made about challenging a Dark Lord, I have hopefully poured water on the fire in this chapter even though I can't go back and change what he said.

I have a LiveJournal now so check there for updates on the progress of chapters and also my yahoo group, links on my BIO.

REVIEWER RESPONCES

shina-schatten: Snape was back at Hogwarts because all the Death Eaters apparated out of the clearing just before Voldemort spotted Sirius and Remus. So he would have been back safely at Hogwarts when Sirius arrived with Remus. Not telling you what side he is on though if any, Snape is not really included in the working plan for this story though the plan does change from day to day.

Lady FoxFire: I know Remus, Sirius and Harry have bad luck but would you rather them have good luck or a happy ending?

Blackstar9: Who said that Voldemort is going to die? Anyway as you shall see time will be extended to cover longer periods.

Thanks to all my reviewers, you are the lighter when I sometimes think the candle has gone out permanently.

Cheers

Halstead