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 25: Failed Days of Doom

January 17th 1992 (The Night Harry Was Captured)

Sirius and Remus for lack of more creative terms were bored. Bored out of there minds to the extent that going on a date with Rita Skeeter in the Forbidden Forest seemed appealing to them at that current moment in time.

The Death Eater safe house had no activity going on it at all. While Sirius and Remus had both cast numerous detections that indeed told them that there should be around twenty Death Eaters in the place, not so much as one of them had moved in the last fifteen minutes, a fact that puzzled both men greatly as when they had arrived there was activity. Albeit less activity than expected but there was still some activity yet somewhere around under an hour ago, since they last cast the charms, all activity had stopped completely.

More minutes passed before the silence and lack of goings on finally got to a naturally impatient and reckless Sirius who jumping to his feet blowing most of his cover though the Disillusionment Charm still shielded him mostly.

Remus, caught unaware by his friends sudden movement and the subsequent blowing of any cover they had held, tugged harshly on the bottom of Sirius's robes and shouted in the lowest voice possible.

"You trying to get us killed again Padfoot?"

Sirius gave Remus a quelling glare, "Something isn't right here Moony, something should be happening and I for one have had enough. Can't you see that?" Sirius asked in a slightly angered tone of voice.

While Remus couldn't help but agree with Sirius, he still didn't agree with his methods, "Padfoot," Remus pleaded, "Don't do anything rash, just wait a while."

These words however had no effect on the frustrated Animagus who felt something wasn't right more than he knew but if it was one thing about himself that he had gotten to trust it was his instincts.

Muttering an apology to Remus, limiting the damage if he was indeed wrong and would burst in to find twenty wands pointed at him, Sirius cancelled the Disillusionment Charm and all subtle probing gone, he raised his wand and chanted:

"Mecerb Duna"

A powerful Detection Charm shot towards the house though it was one that impacted on the wards themselves, making it a useless charm to use if secrecy is wanted as those who were magically astute, which unfortunately meant most Purebloods due to the nature of their upbringing could sense the disturbance.

Sirius, past the point of care, had information flowing through his mind from the Charm and found that the house was more heavily warded than he thought; some wards even had been masked and unrecognisable to him meaning that was more than the basic wards he had been told about. Frustrated at not having enough skill in the subject to identify them, Sirius told Remus this information, sending the man deep into thought.

What confused Sirius more was the fact that none of the magical signatures of the Death Eaters in the house had changed position since he had cast the Charm and this puzzled him to no end.

Impulsively striding forward, seeking the answer to what seemed to be either dead or sleeping Death Eaters but hell even sleeping people moved, Sirius raised his wand at the door and bellowed at the same time as Remus shouted for him to stop:

"Elabro"

The door slammed inwards, debris flying everywhere as Sirius waited a few seconds for what should be a flood of Death Eaters streaming out of the house.

Yet nothing and more importantly no one came.

Striding into the house, Remus by his side now that their cover was blown, Sirius had barely got two steps into the house before he knew something was wrong.

Suddenly Sirius fell to the floor, his knees buckling as a scream escaped his lips, shocking Remus who couldn't see where the problem was coming from.

Intoning "Finite Incantatem" yielded no results and Remus was getting worried though Sirius had now stopped screaming though he was gasping for breaths.

"Padfoot!" Remus shouted at the man desperate for an answer, "Padfoot!"

Sirius, getting to his knees shakily gasped, "Harry…the wards…Voldemort…Harry" in what seemed like a superhuman effort.

Remus just stood there for a few seconds, dazed by the events before snapping into action. Pulling Sirius to his feet, they locked eyes for a split second before Sirius seemed to slump in defeat, the colour returning to his cheeks as his legs steadied.

"Let's go." The Animagus said bluntly before both men apparated back to the Shack.

Rather they tried because they were still standing in the same place. Both men felt the magic surrounding the house go crazy, heavy protective magic blanketing the house, attempting to seal any form of escape.

Snarling, Sirius had taken well enough of this and with the thought of Harry facing that evil monster in his mind, raised his hands and lash out as hard as he could at the wards, he himself stumbling from the backlash as the force shook the whole house.

Screaming, Sirius raised his arms again and Remus felt the wards bend as he himself sent what magic he could muster at the wards.

The wards flickering, Sirius screamed out something in an unknown language that Remus had never heard before but the effect was that of what was wanted. A huge crash and a backlash of magic signalled something had happened to the wards though Remus didn't have the skill to tell what.

"Quick" Sirius barked at Remus as he had managed to temporarily blow a hole in the wards.

Running outside, the pair of them apparated as close to the Shack as the newly erected wards let them which was quite close due to the hasty erection of them.

Sprinting up the path, Sirius heard a pain filled cry from within that he knew was Harry. His gut wrenching he heard Remus growl from beside him as they tore through the flimsy wards the Death Eaters had put on the door as Sirius literally disintegrated it as he shot through, the Killing Curse on his lips for anyone who was hurting Harry, Dark Lord or not.

But even as he felt the bolt of green light escape his wand, the popping noises only confirmed that he was too late, Harry at gone.

Falling to his knees, Sirius screamed in such grief stricken fury as the windows shattered into millions of pieces, the residents of Hogsmeade from that day more fearful of the Shack than ever.

Remus seemed to be beyond fury and was currently barking out all the detection and tracking charm that he knew vainly, though his efforts were to no avail, nearly sending the angered Werewolf out of control.

Sirius just sat there for a moment, his head in his hands as the magic palpitated the air around him, seemingly incapable of doing anything, his brain temporarily frozen by the thoughts running through it at seemingly impossible speed.

Then as suddenly as his control was lost, it was regained. Jumping to his feet, a look in his eye that even scared the furious Remus somewhat, Sirius took off into the secret passage that led to Hogwarts, Remus cursing under his breath before he took flight after his friend, ready to do damage limitation to whatever Sirius was planning to do.

Reaching the Whomping Willow in record time, Remus was nearly panting and for a Werewolf that was something while Sirius was sprinting like he was out for a light stroll. Realising that his magic was propelling the man, Remus was thankful for having inhuman speed as he trailed Sirius wondering what he was going to do next.

Remus decided that whatever happened Sirius was going to something he would regret and what would perhaps bring more trouble than needed, especially with Harry missing. Sending a Stunner at the running man, Remus was flabbergasted to see it just dissipate before it even got near him. Sending another with exactly the same consequences, Remus cast an Invisibility Charm in a desperate attempt to at least keep Sirius out of view and was relieved when Sirius did flicker out of view for a second before re-appearing to Remus who as the caster could see him.

See the Animagus at the doors, Remus just remembered to cast the Invisibility Charm on himself before he put on a burst of pace and just as Sirius opened the doors to the Entrance Hall and about to disappear to who knows where, Remus managed to tackle him to the ground.

What seemed like a good idea fast turned into one so bad it made going up to Voldemort wandless and politely asking Harry back an excellent idea.

Barely hitting the ground with Sirius, Remus was blown back by the sheer power of Sirius, smashing his head on the main doors, his vision worryingly blurring, the sheer power of Sirius's repulsion sending shivers down the werewolf's spine

Never one to give up easily, Remus saw Sirius rising to his feet and ready to go wherever he was going to go and by the looks of it the dungeons, his intentions now clear and despite how dearly and desperately Remus wanted answers, from Severus especially but a dead man can't answer any questions and in the state Sirius was in all it would take would be one remark from Severus to push the Animagus too far considering the emotional stability of nothingness that Sirius currently possessed.

"Padfoot, stop please!" Remus bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the silent Entrance Hall, "Padfoot, lets just go and talk to Albus!" he pleaded but seeing it having no effect, Remus took his life in his hands.

"Blasot" he screamed and watched with part horror, part relief as it struck Sirius dead in the back but was horrified when the only effect the curse had was to make him stumble.

However he did stop, but yet again the Stunner Remus sent dissipated, frustrating him as Sirius's aura was obviously blocking the less powerful curses, giving Remus a hard choice about whether to use more drastic measures to subdue his friend.

Thankfully, Remus was spared from his grave decision by none other than Albus Dumbledore, fluffy slippers and all, appearing from an alcove right near Sirius, freezing the man in his tracks somehow, feigning a look of surprise and not for one moment surprising Remus who often wondered how deep the Headmasters connection actually was with Hogwarts herself.

"Gentlemen, though how nice it is to see you as always, is there a reason why you are making such a noise, it is quite late you know?" Albus said in his usual calm manner though a hint of steel lined his voice.

Snapping out of whatever Dumbledore had imposed on him, slightly shocking the Headmaster, Sirius lashed his aura out at the Headmaster while screaming in a near hysterical tone of voice:

"He has him! Voldemort has Harry! Harry has been kidnapped by that monster Albus! Snape, he set Harry up. That greasy……

Sirius's shouting was cut off by the Headmaster who looking at Sirius passionately, obviously distraught at what fate became of Harry, said in a soft but firm voice.

"Now come to my office, I shall call the Order while we have a cup of tea, how about that Sirius, Remus?"

Remus nodded his head, wanting to get something done about the situation, realising that what Sirius was doing wasn't going to help them in the least but the Animagus was too far gone to care. Acting like he had not heard a single word the Headmaster had said, Sirius began to go for the dungeons again before Dumbledore, sighing heavily, levitated Sirius, in the air, effectively halting any progress he was making to the dungeons.

Sirius, stricken with grief and fury, powering his already dangerous levels of magic, lashed out at Albus in wild fury, throwing his hands out and sending bolts of Pure Magic at the Headmaster who suddenly snapped to attention, air crackling as he raised he palms the magic deflecting harmlessly towards the ceiling. Remus however wasn't so lucky and got caught full on by a stray bolt sending him straight to the ground, his body making a solid thud as his head once more took a hammering.

Never knowing when to stop, Sirius decided that to get to Snape he would have to defeat the Headmaster and at that moment, he was desperate to have his supposed vengeance and would gladly walk through the gates of hell to get that.

Deciding that he would struggle to beat Albus in a fair magic duel, Sirius surprised the old man slightly by throwing bolts of magic at him while running headlong at him, but he underestimated Albus, who flicking his wand, sent Sirius sprawling across the Entrance Hall though this only serve to enrage the man who decided that this was not going to end fast.

Curse after curse, every charm, hex and transfiguration that may give one the advantage over the other was thrown at lightning speed, wands were being waved constantly but even they gave way to just magic at its most pure, shaped with the intent of the caster.

Sirius, using his age advantage and his speed and agility was beginning to wear down the much older Headmaster who though superior in terms of sheer magic and deft for his age, was no match for the young and reckless Sirius.

Remus, who was just regaining his train of thought and full movement capabilities, decided that this was enough and raised his wand so it was pointing straight at the back of the unsuspecting Sirius.

"Resturno"

This time Remus's curse hit the target and he watched with regret as his friends body slumped to the floor, his variation of the Stunner powerful enough to take him down.

"Lets go and have a cup of tea shall we Remus, then we can have our meeting and decide on the best course of action." The weary voice of Albus drafted Remus from his reverie and the pair began to walk the short way to the Headmasters Office, the way ingrained in both of their minds, with the unconscious Sirius floating behind them.

Gargoyles opening with a mere wave of the Headmasters hand, something Remus would bet every book in his collection on that no one else could do that, not even Voldemort himself. Traipsing behind Albus, the trio rose up the staircase swiftly before settling themselves immediately in the Office, niceties forgotten, Dumbledore looking older than ever.

"So Remus, please can you start from the beginning and then I will call the Order in again, then maybe we can wake Mr. Black up." Dumbledore sighed, his haggard almost fragile frame such a bitter contrast to the vibrant magic and passion that ran through the Headmasters veins.

Talked they did. Swiftly but not leaving out anything that could be of use, Remus talked fro what seemed like hours though in reality it was much less yet a detailed observer could almost pinpoint the seconds where Dumbledore's face became more ashen and ashen until he looked like he should be in the infirmary, not spearheading a war effort.

Talking ceased, Dumbledore did something Remus had never ever witnessed from the man, he held his head in his hands and just rocked to and fro to a second before raising his head ever so slowly, eyes shining, to say the words:

"It appears there is a traitor among the Order."

January 18th 1992

A harsh flash of light bought Harry back to life with a thunderous start, his ribs burning furiously.

Dazed and confused, the events of the past few hours escaped him at first as he groped around in the darkness for his wand that normally never strayed out of arms reach. Still oblivious to the fact he was now a prisoner of the Dark Lord, Harry tried to sit up slowly before he realised that he couldn't move.

Then his memories hit him harder than any Bludgeoning Spell ever could.

Panic rose in his chest in hysteric proportions adding to the pain as his once droopy eyes shot open, scanning the area near to where he was being kept, wondering briefly where the flash of light came from. That was until he saw the figure in the black hooded robe and white mask.

Opening his mouth to scream in the vain hope of something happening, Harry barely got one syllable out before a Full Body Bind put an end to any noise he was going to make.

"My Lord requests your presence Potter. You filthy ungrateful Mudblood lover, the Dark Lord will make you pay for your resistance" The Death Eater spat at Harry voraciously.

Looking up from the floor where he could not now move a muscle, Harry saw the Death Eater flick his wand to end the first binding spell that held him before waving his wand and levitating his bound figure behind him through the dark as if touching him would dirty the man beyond redemption.

After a flight of dank stairs and a trip down a mouldy corridor, Harry was floated through a pair of double doors that led in to a room that was a startling contrast to what he had seen so far.

To call the room opulent would have been an exaggeration of the word. The room was fit for royalty of the highest order. A polished wooden floor of the highest quality gleamed throughout the massive hall, portraits and tapestries adorning the rich green walls while huge chandeliers shone. It was only when Harry was unceremoniously dropped to the ground with a thud, the Levitation Charm cancelled, that he saw the haunting red eyes of the Dark Lord who was seated on a magnificent throne of epic proportions trimmed in green and black.

The Death Eater who bought Harry into the room, bowed swiftly to the Dark Lord before leaving the room quickly, not wanting to do anything to anger his Lord and draw unnecessary punishment for himself.

Harry lay there on the floor for a few seconds, shivering in fear and anticipation as the adrenaline pumped through his body unbidden yet strangely welcomed as it overcame some of the fear building in him, allowing more rational thoughts cross his mind.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw the Dark Lord snap his fingers and immediately the Full Body Bind that held him where he lay was lifted.

Jumping to his feet, Harry knew there was no point in making a break for the door, one it was most definitely warded whilst it's never a good idea to turn your back on any enemy, let alone Voldemort.

The next few seconds were weird. Neither made a move, Harry because he had nothing to do and nowhere to go while Voldemort was scrutinising his child advisory with an indecipherable look, chilling Harry as the gaze of the Dark Lord seemed to piece his skin and reach to his very soul.

Then the Dark Lord seemed to break out of his reverie, and addressed Harry with a piercing stare and hissed:

"Young Harry Potter, we finally meet in person again, it has been a long time hasn't it though I can assure you this meeting won't have the same ending!"

Gathering his courage in the face of the now angering Dark Lord, Harry calmly and steadily met the gaze of the most feared wizard, ignoring his scar that was now prickling.

"What do you want from me Voldemort? Have you come to try and kill me again? An unarmed 11 year old boy, you must feel really powerful!" Harry scoffed with much more bravado than his quivering insides actually felt.

"SILENCE, you foolish child, I could kill you without moving an inch you worthless half-blood." Voldemort positively crackled with rage before mysteriously calming down." You child are a mystery to me, so young yet powerful, you could become truly great if you embraced the Dark Arts." Voldemort mused as he sized Harry up and down.

"NEVER!" Harry bellowed, unable to stop himself, all pain now gone from his ribs, adrenaline easily masking them for now.

Faster than the eye could catch Voldemort had his wand pointed at Harry and hissed "Crucio"

Trying to dodge but the Cruciatus just catching him in the leg, Harry screamed as he felt his bones melting as his blood boiled. White hot forks stabbed at his very soul whilst he head was spitting open before the pain vanished as quickly as it had come.

What must have been no longer than ten seconds passed whilst Harry was held under the curse yet his body lay panting on the floor, gasping for air. Struggling to his knees, Harry saw the Dark Lord again looking at him with an intense stare.

"Respect your betters child," Voldemort hissed before pulling what Harry recognised as his Sword and his two wands from somewhere inside his robes, "So many weapons for a young boy, tell me what do you intend to do now you have nothing, not brave now are we. Just like your parents." The Dark Lord mocked, holding his wands up as if taunting Harry to take them somehow as he came closer to Harry, daring him with his eyes to try and take them from his loose grasp.

That is exactly what Harry did.

Regaining his feet, Harry narrowed his eyes in cold fury before throwing his hand out and intoning "Accio Wands"

The shock on Voldemorts face was priceless as both wands shot out of his grasp and to their rightful owner who grabbed his wand out of the gratefully and as the Secondary Wand went back to its holster, Harry screamed:

"Blaso Maxi"

The Curse shot towards Voldemort who in the split seconds since the wands left his hand till Harry shot off the curse had done nothing and had no chance to move, the curse striking him dead on though to the puzzlement of Harry it only sent the Dark Lord stumbling back, a look of brief pain crossing his face instead of sending him flying.

Sending an Earthquake Hex towards the feet of the stumbling Dark Lord, Harry capitalised and watched with a certain satisfaction as this sent the Dark Lord sprawling to the floor.

Sensing this his one and only chance, Harry bolted for the door and using a curse he recently read about, sending the door sprawling of it's hinges, wards avoided by the solid object Striking Spell. Loathing turning his back but having no other choice, Harry ran the short distance to the door hearing the enraged cry of Voldemort behind him and on instinct rolled forward, the wave of black magic flying above him, smashing the wall to pieces in the corridor, drawing a huge sigh of relief from Harry who shuddered to think what effect it would have had on him had it struck him.

Unfortunately this had the effect of drawing all the attention in wherever they were to the location Harry was and he barely got ten steps down the corridor before the nearest door opened and three Death Eaters piled out.

It was hard to say who was more shocked, Voldemort when Harry summoned the wands or the Death Eaters seeing that Harry had escaped Voldemort. Regardless, Harry used their moment of hesitation to his advantage. Sending the same Earthquake Hex at the Death Eaters as he had done to the Dark Lord, Harry followed up by pointing his wand at the wall nearest to the Death Eaters and crying:

"Elabro"

The wall exploded into pieces, huge chunks of plaster flying everywhere distracting the Death Eaters making it easy for Harry to finish the job.

"Arcdul"

A variation if the Stunner flew out from the tip of his wand in a wide arc and while still less powerful than the original, Harry had practised it enough so that it would knock out anyone it came into contact with though for a shorter period of time admittedly.

Not bothering to look back, Harry briefly tried apparating with no success, not surprising him in the slightest before he began to run down the corridor towards any exit, but alas it seemed he was either underground or in a huge manor as Harry couldn't see any windows or any means of exit.

Suddenly a loud siren began wailing, nearly making the skittish Harry start cursing before he realised that whatever that noise was, it was not good for him, corner after corner he turned, seemingly getting nowhere before he passed through what looked like a sitting room, dodging down a corridor and then in to a study to escape from a pair of Death Eaters who thankfully had not seen him.

Then his stupidity hit him and Harry thanked his lucky stars that he had not been caught yet before casting an Invisibility Charm on himself. He hoped that it wouldn't take him that long to escape as he couldn't hold the charm for longer than a few minutes and he was still very faintly see able but barely so that the human eye could notice. Then pointing his wand straight at his own chest, Harry hissed out the most powerful healing spell he knew short of the Aurors infamous Quick Heal spell and nearly screamed in pain as his ribs seemed to bend inside his body, a scream barely tapped in his throat.

Casting a Silencing Charm on his feet, Harry bounded down the corridor, coming to a flight of stairs leading upwards; add more plausibility to the theory that he was indeed underground. Taking the stairs two at a time, Harry was unfortunate to come across a Death Eater running down them and with no where to go, Harry had Stunned the man who never knew what had hit him.

Bounding up another flight of stairs, thankfully escaping any more confrontations with Death Eaters, Harry made it up to what must have been the Entrance Hall. Obviously whoever who had had the house built cared a lot about first impressions, the Entrance Hall was full of magnificent paintings and tapestries, the ceiling at least 25ft high topped by the most beautiful of lights, sending eerie shivers through Harry as he cautiously made his way towards the front door, praying that the wards didn't extend too far.

He needn't worry though as he would never make it that far. Getting within a hundred feet of the front door, Harry suddenly felt a wave of magic wash over him that he knew to be that of a ward being crossed and Harry cursed loudly, betting his life that he had just tripped some ward.

Confirmed in his beliefs, Death Eaters began pouring in from everywhere including the front doors, effectively cutting off any easy way of exit for Harry. The only advantage that he still held was that he was invisible but casting spells while under it was draining and he was beginning to get worn out just by holding the charm up.

Puzzled by the lack of a visual on Harry, some of the Death Eaters were openly confused but much to Harry's chagrin, some of the higher ranking Death Eaters must have been present as they held calculating looks on their eyes before one of them began chanting something in Latin. Harry recognised it immediately as a spell that would effectively render his invisibility obsolete, so dropping all pretences of hiding; Harry decided to beat the Death Eaters to the punch. Raising his wand muttering the counter spell, Harry decided that the best plan would be to try and barrel his way through the door and try to seek obscurity in the grounds.

"Explodro" Harry screamed; startling the nearest Death Eaters as the Exploding Curse crashed into them, sending the majority of them flying, only the more astute ones managing to raise a shield in time.

Cursing as quick as he possibly could, Harry used the most powerful and destructive curses that he knew, knowing that it could well be his life he was fighting for but with every Death Eater he injured, two fresh ones seemed to take their place and this was beginning to annoy and frighten him to no end.

Plaster was everywhere as curse after curse flew thick at Harry who was making it nowhere fast, dust was everywhere but it was hindering him more than helping him. A Hammer Curse slipped past his shield, sending him stumbling, just able to raise a shield against a Bone Breaker but unable to hold firm against two Strike Spells sending his wand tumbling briefly before he quickly summoned it back before the Death Eaters did but paid the price, another Hammer Spell striking him in his already broken ribs, sending spasms of pain coursing through his body.

Beyond caring and frantic like a caged wild animal, Harry rolled to the left to avoid four indiscernible spells before sending spell after spell at the Death Eaters nearest him, watching with morbid satisfaction as two crumbled under successive Bone Breakers, while one fell under a Reducto, blood and bone spraying on his disgusted comrade, distracting him enough so that Harry could hit him with a Blasting Curse.

Suddenly, the fog cleared and Harry still saw more Death Eaters than he could easily count. Sagging slightly on the inside, Harry barely dodged a purple curse before having to shield against two Stunners, the shield and his energy weakening with every second.

The once pristine Entrance Hall was now think, with blood, grime and broken bodies amongst other things, a desecration of something magnificent but Harry couldn't care less, another Cutting Curse slicing his arm open though he didn't feel a thing.

Spinning round, Harry barely dodged a Throat Cutting Hex, before being caught with a powerful Banishment Charm. Skidding through the now slick Entrance Hall floor, Harry's vision went blank for a moment and when he came back, a witch who looked vaguely familiar raised her wand and incandescent fury coursed through him but to no good as Bellatrix's cold clipped word rang out through the hall.

"Crucio"

AN

Thank you my dear readers for all your words of support and yes I am still around and yes this story is near completion, just two more chapters to go!!! I've just realised my ending is quite clichéd, hope u don't mind too much!

I do update my BIO page with how I'm doing in regard to my stories so check there if you're worried that I have fallen off the face of the Earth…again

I haven't been looking at my story plan for a while and when I came to check it was a pleasant surprise to find that half of what should have been this chapter was put in the last chapter, it allows me to put something in which I originally thought I'd have to cut out!

I have a LJ and a Yahoo Group if you want any questions answered, JOIN NOW, links on my BIO.

REVIEWER RESPONCES

Lil Miss Potter: I hope this chapter soothed your concerns, I couldn't leave you all hanging for that long, I'm not that evil, well actually…….

Lady Foxfire: Happy Ending of course, if not for anyone else then just for you, how's that for reviewer loyalty?

Jeanne2: I agree about Harry and his power levels, while I have made him very powerful, he is by no means unbeatable. I think you were right in your assumption of Sirius and Remus and their reactions, grins

Yana5: Oh faithful reviewer, Dumbledore wiped their memories because they did not believe him about the innocence of Sirius and Remus words and therefore couldn't be trusted with the information in fear of them leaking it to the press or worse the Ministry.

Thanks to all my reviewers who encouraged me to get this chapter done as soon as possible, making me miss most of my favourite hobby, sleep, in the process of doing so.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Cheers

Halstead