To Jedusor, shelleykids, lady leah, BratPrincess-187, RainSW6, Me, futagoakuma-tenshi02, kurai-princess, anonymous, Luna_Kat04, charlie-potter1, Alize, Ruriko Minamino, Tainted Angel, me and Fairy Peachblossom.
Thank you all. I am so pleased that you enjoyed the last chapter. Part 1 is nearly finished now. Only a few more chapters to go.
I hope this next chapter is okay for all. I wanted to get it done before New Year and I did (phew)
I took a few liberties with the 5th book, mainly the names of the Aurors that collect Harry from his house near the beginning. while this book s become AU since the release of the 5th book, I wanted to keep some of it the same, including the people who are part of the Order.
Also, is there anyone who could do me a spell list? I know I'm asking a lot, but I never have been good at that aspect. Well read, enjoy, then tell me what you think.
By the way, if you see wrongly or misspelled words, it means my computer is acting up again and I apologise
I do not own Harry Potter, or this would be how it went!
DARKNESS OR LIGHT. WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE?
Chapter 27 - The Search And The Discovery
The sky was overcast but every now and then, the moon would become visible when the scurrying clouds left a gap. These short bouts of moonlight shone on a ruined mansion, which was blackened with what looked like the result of a fire.
"Hey Snape, are you sure that this was the place?"
The potions professor acknowledged a wheezy voice with a small nod of his head.
"Definitely. The Riddle home was definitely mentioned."
A group of five people stood on what was left of the bell entrance to the mansion. All were staring up at the half open, black doors.
"Well Severus, it doesn't look like anyone has been here in quite a while."
"I assure you Elphias, it was definitely here.
The silver haired Wizard named Elphias turned to a spiky pinked haired girl next to him. "What do you think Tonks?"
Tonks tapped her nose with a forefinger and squinted her dark eyes slightly. "It looks suspicious," she commented, "especially the burnt and black look. It looks like someone was trying to destroy the evidence of something."
Elphias grunted and Tonks stared at him in amusement.
"Anyway," Sirius moved away from the door, back towards the gardens, "we are supposed to be looking around, trying to find something to confirm Draco Malfoy's story."
Severus, Elphias and Tonks followed him.
"Well Bill, what do you think?" A Stately looking Witch in a green shawl stared at a tall red headed Wizard dressed in black. Bill Weasley stared back at her with a small smile.
"I think Malfoy was telling the truth Emmeline and I'm worried about what we will find."
With that, he followed the group heading into the gardens and after a few moments, Emmeline followed also.
~~
"Have you found anything?"
"Not yet. Stop harassing me and look yourself."
Reamus Lupin rolled his eyes and sighed. They had been searching the rooms for about two hours now and had found nothing of use. Moody, Kingsley and himself had been designated to search inside the Riddle Mansion, while Severus, Sirius, Tonks, Elphias, Emmeline and Bill were to search the grounds and cemetery. Their mission, to search for any information on Harry. The Aurors that were with them were the best in the business and the most trusted. (Meaning, they weren't likely to run to Fudge and report everything.) The information about Harry was top secret, but no one believed it, without proof, which was why there were out here.
"Lupin, are you daydreaming or searching?"
Reamus sighed, then left the kitchen area and headed out towards the stables. From the information that Dumbledore had given then, Draco Malfoy had said that he had been locked up in one of the rooms. Something might have been left here to collaborate with his story.
"There is nothing here;" Kingsley stepped out of one of the rooms that Reamus had been heading to, "apart from a rug in one of the rooms. I found a few black hairs on it, but nothing to prove that it was Harry Potter."
Reamus nodded and sighed again. This search was going nowhere fast. The whole place had practically been searched and all they had found were a few black hairs and a slight blood trail on a corner of a chest of draws. Nothing certain at all.
"Shall we head outside?" Kingsley asked. "They might be having more luck."
Remus nodded.
~~
"Well, it looks like someone was in a destructive mood recently." Tonks brushed her hand over the top of one of the gravestones. "It's been hacked, and here," she touched the top of another one, "this one too."
"This happened last year," Severus replied, walking past, "when Voldemort was resurrected. Potter told us he was dodging the Crutacious curse, hiding behind gravestones."
"During the Triwizard tournament?"
"Yes. When Cedric Diggory was killed."
Tonks nodded and Emmeline walked over to them. "Did Voldemort punish you for not being here at the time Severus?" The question was asked curiously and Severus shook his head.
"No. I explained that I had to be with Dumbledore for the tournament or I would arouse too many suspicions. After a bit of grovelling, he accepted it, fortunately."
"Hey guys, I've found something I think you had better see." Elphias yelled over to them, his wheezy voice clearing a little.
Severus, Emmeline and Tonks moved quickly to where Elphias was waving his arms. As soon as they arrived, they spotted Bill and Sirius staring at a freshly dug grave. There was no marker apart from a slab of wood stuck in the ground. The only marking on the slab was a crudely etched shape that looked kind of like a lightning bolt.
"Tonks, go get the others," Severus whispered.
Tonks nodded her agreement, then ran back in the direction of the house. Severus turned back to Sirius, who had kneeled down on the grass and had begun to move the dirt covering the grave with his fingers.
"Sirius, wait. Let Moody get here first."
Sirius didn't answer, just continued to scrape away the mud with his fingers. Severus watched helplessly until Tonks came back, Reamus, Moody and Kinsley in tow.
"Merlin..." Remus trailed off as soon as he saw the wooden marker. Moody barged through and lifted Sirius from the ground.
"Pull yourself together Black. We don't even know if anything is in there," Moody growled. He pulled out his wand, pointed it at the grave and muttered a few words under his breath. An explosion occurred, throwing mud up in everyone's faces whom was standing in the line of fire.
"Damn it Mad Eye, warn us first." Tonks shook dirt clods out of her hair. Elphias muttered obscenities and Severus nodded in agreement, brushing his robes free of dirt. Emmeline calmly shook out her green shawl and Bill shook his hair and brushed it with his fingers. Sirius just stood where Moody had placed him, staring down into the now, dirt free grave. Reamus casually brushed the mud from his shoulders then brushed Sirius' free.
"Stop complaining Tonks and help pull out the crate," Moody placed his wand back into his robes. For that was what was in the hole, Snape noted; a crate. Not a coffin, or even a box, but a crate.
Moody, Tonks, Kingsley and Remus all grabbed a corner of the crate and pulled it out of the hole, placing it on the ground next to Sirius.
"Whoa, that was light," Tonks muttered. "Felt like there was nothing in there."
Sirius broke out of his frozen state and pulled the lid off of the crate, then pulled away the sheet covering the contents.
"Oh Harry," he whispered, reaching his shaking hand into the crate and touching the cold cheek of his Godson.
Severus stared into the crate and sat the body of Harry Potter, curled up in a ball. His face was ashen white with tinges of blue, especially his lips. His eyes were slightly open, the main retina not seen, but the white part of his eye was a faint green. Severus also noted that on his forehead, over where his lightning scar was situated, was a cut that was also slightly green.
"Avada Kedavra, "Tonks murmured. "It actually worked this time."
No one else said anything apart from Sirius, who had gathered the body of his Godson into his arms and began to cry.
"Come on," Moody finally spoke. "Let's got back to Hogwarts." He took the body of Harry Potter from Sirius' arms, then Apparated out of the cemetery. One by one, the rest of the Aurors did too, until there was only Sirius and Severus standing together beside the grave.
"I will get him for this Severus," Sirius spoke quietly. "Mark my words, I will."
He then Apparated, Severus doing the same a few seconds later.
~~
Ron did not have a clue what had happened.
From what he remembered of New Year, he had been throwing up constantly, with maybe half an hour breathers between. Draco had been just as bad. He wasn't sure about the girls but he knew Blaise had been bad too, just not as ill. He had spent part of the night in Gryffindor tower with himself and Draco, until a very concerned Seamus had sent for Madam Pomfrey. The three of them had then spent the rest of the night in the infirmary.
Hermione, Pansy and Ginny had not been down to see them yet, so Ron assumed that they had holed themselves up in Hermione's room and not told anyone else. From what conversation had taken place between Ron and Seamus, he had discovered that he, Dean and Neville all felt ill, but not as bad as Ron seemed to be.
Most people at that point would have thought it was something that they had eaten, but that thought was crushed nearly as soon as it had been thought. Draco had hardly eaten anything and everyone else had all eaten different things on New Years Eve. It also didn't explain the voice that they had heard, and the fact they had all felt ill at precisely the same time.
"Ron," Blaise's voice came from two beds down, "how are you feeling?"
"Better," Ron replied. This was true. The sick feeling had now gone, but now he felt empty, hollow. Like something important had been removed. "How are you?"
"Strange. I feel that I'm missing something."
So he wasn't the only one. He stared over at Draco's bed and noticed that he was also awake. Draco was sitting up, clutching the snake necklace that Harry had given him and he didn't look up, even when Ron called his name.
"Ah, boys. I see that you have woken up."
Ron looked up to see Professor Dumbledore standing by the open door of the infirmary, a frown on his face.
"Yes sir," Ron replied. Dumbledore nodded his ad, then turned around.
"Mr Weasley, could you escort Mr Malfoy to my office as soon as you are both dressed. I would like a word." With that, he left the infirmary without giving Ron a chance to reply.
"What does he want, do you suppose?" Blaise asked.
Ron shook his head, "I have no idea."
~~
"Mr Weasley, Mr Malfoy. Do sit down."
Feeling very bemused; Draco sat down on one of the chairs opposite Dumbledore, Ron sitting on the chair next to him. Very strange things had been happening lately, from the loss of Harry, the apparent control of Hermione to the strange sickness and strange voices on New Years Eve.
As everyone had said, Draco was mentally ill. He was on the edge of having a breakdown that, while not being true, was close. Draco was angry, and patient.
When Sirius had first brought him in, he had been in a state of no longer caring. That was his breakdown. He had wanted to die. After the words that Sirius had with him, his resolve had changed. Until he had gotten his revenge on Voldemort, his emotions would not get the better of him.
"Now, I bet you are both wondering why I have brought you here."
Both Draco and Ron nodded.
"I have thought about this and there is no easy way to say it." Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. We have found Harry's body."
Draco stood up sharply, the chair he had been sitting on, upturning behind him.
"What?"
He had already broken his resolve, to keep his emotions under wraps. It seemed that whenever Harry was brought up, they broke free.
"When, where?" Draco heard Ron ask from behind him. Dumbledore opened his eyes again.
"He was found, buried in a crate in the cemetery behind the Riddle Mansion. I sent a few, trusted Aurors out to search for any clues on Voldemort. They found nothing, only Harry.
"Sir," Draco whispered. "Would it... I mean, can I see him?"
There was a few seconds of silence, then Dumbledore nodded. "That was why I brought the two of you here. To ask if you would like to see him."
Ron stood up and nodded. "Yes, we would."
~~
The dungeons were cold, frightfully cold. Draco shivered and wrapped his arms around himself, noting that Ron did the same. To be honest, he didn't want to see Harry again, not like this. It just seemed wrong. He wanted to keep the images of Harry, smiling, happy, loving without tainting them with the lifeless figure that Harry was now. He didn't want to see him, but he had to.
They climbed down a few sets of darkened stairs with only a few torches along the walls and onto a similarly dark corridor. Dumbledore walked slightly ahead of Draco and Ron and said nothing. It stayed this way until the three of them reached a large set of double doors at the end of the corridor. A small shaft of light shone from under the doors.
"In here," Dumbledore pushed open one of the doors and Draco and Ron walked into the room beyond.
At first glance, the only things that were seen in the room, were a long table in the centre of the room and torches on the walls all around the room. At second glance, Draco spotted a casket sitting on top of the table that was the same colour as the table itself.
"Hi Ron," a voice came from behind them. Ron and Draco both turned around to see a tall red haired man leaning against the wall.
"Bill," Ron stared. "What are you doing here?"
"We found him," his brother replied, gesturing to three others leaning against the wall with him. "Elphias Doge," he pointed at a silver haired man, "Nymphadora Tonks," he waved at a girl with short, black, spiky hair, "and this is..."
"Professor Lupin." Ron said, startled
Hello Ron. It's good to see you."
Draco acknowledged the people with Ron, then turned back to the casket on the table.
"Harry?" He whispered. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into the dark eyes of Sirius.
"Go on. Go to him."
Nodding, Draco took the few paces forward so he was standing by the table and he stared down, into the face of the one he loved.
Harry lay on a sheet of white satin, his hair contrasting the white vividly. His eyes were closed and his face was serene. He had been dressed in a black suit, which actually fitted his small frame, instead of hanging loosely.
"Harry," Draco reached out and touched Harry's face with his fingers. He felt the tears, which he had managed to hold back for a few days, begin to slowly making his way down his cheeks. Having Harry here now, like this, just drove home the fact that Harry was dead and was never coming back. "Harry. I love you. I will always love you and that will never change."
Something suddenly felt wrong to Draco and he reached up and grasped the necklace around his neck. It was burning his skin again, just as it had that morning when he woke up. Curiously, he reached into Harry's shirt, searching...
Harry's necklace was not there.....
tba
Is this okay? Please read and review. I will get the next chapter up as soon as I can
Love Rie
xx