Chapter 95

Not daring to touch it with his own hands, he levitated the parchment in front of his face and read it. Immediately he called Poppy, Minerva and Albus to the cabin. The mediwitch casted a levitation charm on the gamekeeper's limp body and returned to the castle, while Albus and Minerva studied the note.

"Oh my... Albus, they have her, but what do they need her for?" Minerva said and Severus recognized that the normally collected witch was totally out of sorts.

Before Dumbledore could answer, Severus had offered an explanation.

"I trust that they want to hold her hostage to get their hands on Potter sr. The Dark Lord knows that the Gryffindor will come to her rescue right away without thinking"

"You might be right, Severus. The fact that Bellatrix Lestrange has managed to get on the grounds is equally disturbing. It seems no matter how many more wards and protection we add, it's never enough" Minerva sighed, not daring to think what the deatheaters might have done to her former students already.

"I'm sure that someone has led her the way inside" Severus growled and he was quite sure that he knew who it was.

They returned to the headmistress' office and found the rest of the searching party there with sad expressions on their faces.

Sirius however saw the haunted look on Minerva's face and paled.

"What did you find?"

Minerva looked exhausted from Albus to Severus and sighed.

"She obviously went to visit Hagrid and..."

Her voice faded and she was unable to continue. Dumbledore put his hand to rest on her shoulder in comfort.

"Lestrange waited for her in the cabin and she's holding her hostage now" Severus continued, his voice not as coolly as usual.

"Why are we still here then? We have to go and rescue her" Sirius snapped and his eyes looked reproachfully from Albus to Minerva and the potion master.

"How would it help her if we'd just storm into Voldemort's lair and get us all killed?" Severus said, barely holding back his annoyance.

Before Sirius could continue with his ranting, Dumbledore held up his hand and demanded silence.

"I think first of all we need to bring James here. Sirius, would you take care of that?"

Sirius nodded, the anger still quite strong in his eyes, and rushed out of the office.

Then Dumbledore dismissed the rest of the search party to return to their classes, except Severus.

"We need to know how Bellatrix has been able to get on the grounds without anybody noticing it. I thought our wards were strong enough to keep the evil out long enough."

To Severus, Albus Dumbledore had never looked so old and tired then today. They needed to bring Voldemort down before all this would be the old man's death.

"I will go and tweak the wards to ensure that they can't get through them again for a while. Minerva, would you please have a talk with tribe. They might have seen something we haven't noticed"

The old sparkle of Gryffindor courage and energy enflamed in her eyes and she rose quickly from her chair.

"We need to know who led her on the grounds"

Then in a whirl of tartan robes she was gone.

"Severus, I'd like you to stay here and wait for James and Sirius to return"

The ever present scowl on Severus face deepened and his eyebrows almost formed one line.

What have I done to deserve this, he muttered to himself while Albus disappeared behind a tapestry.

The boaster and the mongrel were hard enough to stand under normal circumstances, but this was going to be ugly.

Sirius had apparated right in front of the little house in Godric's Hollow. At the moment it didn't matter if anybody saw him, because James would not stay in there long enough to be exposed to any danger. He was grateful that Zara's mother had moved to her own little cottage already, so she was already taken care of.

When he crossed the threshold, he automatically went back to his old behaviour as an auror. All his senses were sharpened to recognize if anything was amiss. Carefully he moved forward and into the sitting room.

James wasn't there.

He couldn't find him in the study or in the bedroom and he started to worry when he recognized a door opposite of Harry's room. Sure that this door had not always been there, he grabbed his wand firmer and proceeded to the door. Carefully he pushed the door open and his vision became blurry. Angrily he blinked away a few tears and stepped inside.

"James?"

"Hey Padfoot, what are you doing here. What a nice surprise. It's been quiet around here"

James rose up from the spot on the floor he had been sitting on and hugged his old friend.

"How do you like it?"

"It's beautiful" Sirius said, trying hard to cover that he was almost choking on his own words.

He hadn't known that his friend was spending his private time on creating a new nursery. The walls were painted in a faint yellow, colorful butterflies fluttering all over them. Harry's crib had been changed from blue to apricot, but still decorated with the phoenix mobile.

His friend was not finished yet and Sirius hoped and prayed with all his might that after all this had ended, his friend would be able to continue his master piece and that there would be a baby to sleep in this room. It tore his heart in pieces even to think about that his best friend might lose Lily again so shortly after their reunion. He didn't even want to imagine what this would mean to Harry. His godson was, for the first time in his life, truly happy and he cursed Voldemort and his wretched cousin for causing them all so much grief.

Sirius knew that he couldn't wait any longer and steeled himself to give him friend the dreadful message. James was a little disappointed that his friend didn't show a little more enthusiasm, but then he recognized the utterly sad look on his face and his heart ached.

"What happened" he asked him firmly and all the happiness had vanished from his face, replaced by deep concern and fear.

"Bellatrix has abducted Lily this morning. Voldemort wants you in exchange for her" Sirius explained numbly and tears sprung to his eyes once again when he saw the empty look on James' face

Sirius walked up to his friend and grabbed him by his shoulders, trying to wake him from his stupor.

"James, we have to go"

Without further ado, Sirius pulled him into a tight embrace and disapparated. James behaviour didn't change and Sirius had all but to drag him over the lawn and into the castle. It seemed as if James had turned himself off completely.

When they entered the office, Sirius recognized to his dismay that everybody was gone except of the greasy bat. He was sitting in a chair next to the desk and read in one of Minerva's books. This seemed to snap James back into reality.

"My wife is in the hands of your wonderful companions and you sit here and READ?" he spat, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I was ordered to wait for you here. It wasn't my choice" Snape said evenly. He knew it wouldn't help to fuel his anger.

He wouldn't bait him this time, but not because he felt sorry for him. They all needed to cooperate, this one time... for Lily's sake.

"Where did they take her?" James roared. "I know that you know it. You're one of them"

Severus had long stopped to feel hurt about phrases like this.

The people he cared about knew the truth and that was enough for him. It also proved to him that the deatheaters were not the only ones prone for prejudice.

'Once a deatheater always a deatheater'

"That is quite enough, James. I know you're upset but without Severus foresight it might have taken us much longer to find out where Lily is" Albus said sternly.

The yells had alerted him of James arrival and he wanted to make sure that he didn't kill Severus at first sight. It had always pain him that those brilliant wizards had never managed to be friends, but the dislike for each other ran too deep. Outside her office, Minerva shifted into her animagus form and ran down the corridor. There were two cats she wanted to speak with and not much time to do so. She wasn't sure if it would bring anymore information but she wanted to try.

Right in front of Filch's office, she called out and flicked her tail impatiently while she waited. Just when she was about to go, the scrawny cat with her lamp-like eyes came around the corner.

"What are you doing here, witch?

Minerva was a little peeved about the disrespect, but knew that the cat was already as bitter as her master.

"I wanted to ask if you have seen anything suspicious since yesterday"

Mrs Norris strolled back and forth in front of the witch, not commenting at first. Minerva's patience was running out, but she knew that pushing the matter wouldn't do any good.

"Well, I have seen a shadow lurking about at the gates, but I don't know more about it"

Before Minerva could ask any more questions, the cat had strolled back into Filch's office. The witch let out a growl that would have put every grim to shame and took off towards Gryffindor tower.

"I don't care if Voldemort wants me or not. I'm not sacrificing my wife for my own safety" James bellowed and shot daggers at Albus and Snape.

"How much explanation does it take to get it into the thick skull of yours?" Severus spat and looked at his nemesis in utter annoyance.

"He is counting on your Gryffindor stupidity. Do you really think he will let Lily go when he has you?"

Sirius had to grudgingly admit that Snape was right.

"James, he has a point here"

The black-haired wizard's head spun around and glared at his friend.

"I can't believe that you agree with him"

The tension was so thick in the room, you could cut it with a knife.

"I think, we should call for assistance here" Albus ended the bickering with a quick hand move.

The younger wizards seemed to wonder what Dumbledore had in mind, because they all showed the same confused expression.

"I trust, that we all want to get Lily out of there as soon as possible, but we can't let James run headlong into disaster. We have to set up a rescue party that can operate with great stealth and there's only one man capable to lead this group"

Severus knew immediately who Dumbledore was talking about and he groaned inwardly.

He just didn't get a break.

Minerva was grateful that Albus instantly had replaced the Fat Lady with the painting of Perseus again. Although she trusted the Fat Lady, she felt more comfortable with Perseus there. He was more observant and took his job more seriously. The wizard winked at her from his painting and the portrait hole opened. She rushed through and scanned the common room for Miss Granger's familiar.

The half-kneazel was curled up on the rug next to the fireplace; Miss Warren's familiar sitting next to him. They were deep in conversation and Minerva was curious what they were talking about. Odin was the most curious cat in the world and maybe he had seen something during his strolls on the ground. And he was the one who recognized the witch at first.

"Hey, Minerva! What are you doing here?"

She gave him a stern look which looked quite strange on her feline face. Gracefully, she leapt on the armrest of the couch and curled her tail around her legs. Crookshanks and Odin settled down on the couch, looking at her expectantly. Quickly, she recalled everything that had happened before and the two cats looked at her with mixed emotions. Odin's whiskers twitched nervously while Crookshanks lazily licked his paws.

"Has one of you seen something strange?"

"You should ask the wolf" Odin said excitedly. "I trust he can give you some answers"

Minerva looked curiously at the black cat and wondered what he meant.

"Yes I think so too. The wolf has ignored some important facts and so they came back to haunt us"

Crookshanks cryptic comment confused her even more. Nodding her thanks, she left the two cats to their business and decided to talk about this with Albus. She hated the fact that cats never could make a clear statement. Slightly annoyed, she rushed back to her office. She heard the loud argument when she reached the stone gargoyle. With a low groan, she shifted back into her human form and went up the moving staircase. She heard Albus strained voice when she reached the door. Feeling the urge to rescue her old friend from the battling wizards she steeled herself and entered.

Dumbledore had just returned from the fireplace when Minerva came back. His floo call had been successful and just as the witch had settled down behind her desk, Alastor Moody stepped out of the flames. His magical eye was constantly spinning in its socket while his normal eye scanned the room for possible threats. When he was sure that everything was alright, he fixed his gaze on every wizard in turn before it came to rest on Severus. The potion master met his scrutinizing look and didn't back down.

He knew that the former auror did not fully trust him, but it didn't matter. Alastor trusted nobody except of maybe Professor Dumbledore.

"Thanks for coming so quickly, old friend" he heard the soft voice of Albus welcoming the newcomer.

"Tell me exactly what happened this morning; don't leave anything out, no matter how trivial it might be and then we'll see what can be done" the old auror growled with his grating voice while he limped over to a chair next to Sirius.

Being the most reasonable one at the moment, Severus quickly recalled everything he observed, successfully ignoring Moody's expression of mistrust.

"So Lestrange was led onto the grounds by someone from the castle – " with a glance towards Sirius and James, he added "and I can assure you it wasn't Mr Malfoy"

"How would you know? You mollycoddle him every chance you get" James spat, looking around the room for support.

"I most definitely do not mollycoddle anyone, let alone Malfoy" Snape growled with disgust.

"Malfoy would not dare to bring Lestrange here. He's scared of her because he knows what a maniac she is. Besides, I'm hopeful that I might have been able to cure him from his wish to join the deatheaters"

All that didn't really matter to James at the moment. He wanted to get Lily back and every minute they wasted with useless babbling would just mean increasing the risk for her and the baby.

"Mr Black, I need you to check with Remus. I had a conversation with the cats and they told me to ask the wolf for explanation. So you need to find out if Remus has experienced anything in the past few days that might give us a clue where our wards are lacking. If we manage to rescue Lily, I'm sure that He-who-must-not-be-named will attack" Minerva said firmly and Albus nodded in agreement.

Sirius left the room without further ado and hurried to his friend's office. He knew why McGonagall had asked him to do this. Snuffles wouldn't have a problem to keep his old mate in check in case the werewolf made a little performance. Normally he was not dangerous during the day but you wouldn't want to risk anything.

"Well, Alastor, how do you think we should proceed from here" Albus asked his long-tem friend after the auror had been filled in on what had happened.

"First of all we need a few more aurors" he growled and took a sip from his flask.

"I expect that a little group, well-versed in stealth and combat, will be better suited for this task then a huge army. Not that we could provide one in the first place" he snarled and let out a string of profanities about the stupidity of the ministry.

"Who would you suggest Alastor?" Minerva said with a strained voice. she knew how important it was to carefully ahead, but sometimes the Gryffindor blood inside her was to strong.

"Shacklebolt and Black for sure, then Jones and Podmore for the entering and fighting. Vance and Tonks for back-up and look-out"

"Tonks? How smart is that, old man" Snape sneered. "The witch is so clumsy she would alert even a deaf Pettigrew. That's the easiest way to blow the whole thing"

"Watch your mouth, boy!" Moody bellowed. "Your part in this is to show our aurors the way to the lair. How you do it is your choice"

Snape just glared at the old auror but kept his mouth firmly shut.

When Sirius returned to the office, they had already discussed the main parts of the operation. James remained silent most of the time, which was most disturbing for Albus. He had expected the man would rage and rant, but that didn't happen.

"What did Remus tell you" Minerva said when Sirius closed the door behind him.

"He told me when he went to warn James, he felt like someone was following him around all the time, but he couldn't see anybody."

Then Severus groaned and put his head in his hands. This very strange behaviour attracted the others attention and soon Snape recognized that they were all staring at him.

"Lestrange is a lunatic, but very smart nonetheless. She was always one step ahead. Most likely she knew that someone would go to warn Potter so she just waited for the person to appear and followed him."

After that comment, the room fell silent until Albus spoke again.

"This means, that no one is going to leave this castle anymore. We cannot risk that Voldemort gets another chance to get a foot in the door."

All the discussion and the waiting was finally too much for James.

"I don't know what you're going to do now, but I will go after Lily now. I don't care if someone is showing me the way or not. Even if I have to walk all the way there, I'm not going to sit here and wait any longer"

"You will stay here, my boy" Dumbledore said and gave the black-haired wizard a pitiful glance. "I need you here to break the news to your son"

James' face switched from red to ghostly white in seconds. He had no idea how Harry would react and how much hope he could give him.

Then Alastor got up from his chair and limped to the fireplace. "I'm going to fetch the aurors and meet you at the gates in 30 minutes."

When the old wizard had disappeared, Sirius left the office as well to get his cloak, inform Lady Tanya about the situation and fetch Harry. The boy was disturbed why his father was here, but also excited to see him. Dumbledore distracted Harry while Sirius said good bye to James.

"I promise I will bring her back to you James, safe and sound" he pledged and hugged his friend fiercely.

"Be careful, Padfoot"

With that, Sirius rushed out of the office, followed by the scowling potion master.

They met Alastor and the aurors at the gates.

Hestia Jones, a black-haired witch, was talking to Emmeline Vance while Tonks, Shacklebolt and Podmore, kept a close look on the surroundings.

Moody gave them some final instructions and reminded them of "constant vigilance"

Snape shared his knowledge about the place where Lestrange most likely held Lily captive and returned to the castle to continue with his classes.

It wouldn't help if he also would run around like a headless chicken.

Harry looked at his father with a confused expression. He had no idea what was going on. Sirius had refused to tell him why he had interrupted Herbology to bring him to the headmistress office. His father seemed nervous and concerned, but he couldn't quite understand why.

"What's wrong dad?" he asked quietly.

"Come here and sit with me, Harry" James said weakly and beckoned Harry over. Dumbledore and McGonagall were sitting on the desk and watched carefully what happened between father and son, who were sitting close to the fireplace.

The headmistress had already taken care of a calming draught in case that Harry's temper would get out of control.

"I have to tell you that something dangerous has happened to your mother"

If Harry had merely listened to his father, he was now highly alert. He had paled terribly and his green eyes were glowing like emeralds. The color contrast was even more visible when his cheeks started to get red spots from anger when his father continued.

"She has been abducted by deatheaters this morning in Hagrid's hut"

"What? And Hagrid didn't do anything? He just let them take her?" Harry raged and McGonagall fidgeted with the potion vial.

"It's not Hagrid's fault, Harry. Bellatrix Lestrange has taken him out before your mother arrived, we assume"

"What has Hagrid got to say about this?" Harry inquired, still angry and worried.

"We don't know. He is still unconscious, but as soon as he is awake, we will question him.

Harry slumped back into his chair and James recognized how vulnerable he looked. It was hard to believe that his son had already faced Voldemort several times and survived.

"Dad, she is going to be alright, isn't she? She and the baby" Harry said meekly and looked at his father with pleading eyes.

"Sirius and the other aurors are already on their way to save your mother, my boy. You have to have faith. Padfoot will not let anything happen to her" James assured him and hoped that he sounded somewhat believable.

Just then Harry's Gryffindor soul kicked into full gear.

"But dad, we have to go after her; the more the better. We just can't sit here idle, we can't"

His son's outburst was more than understandable for the black-haired wizard. He felt just the same. The fact that he just had to sit here and wait until he heard something was driving him insane. He would have any peace until Lily was back, safe and sound or he knew that she hadn't survived.

"Harry, you have to understand why the deatheaters have abducted your mother. Voldemort wants to get his hands on you and me. He can't finish the ritual to give him immortality as long as you and I are still alive. Your mother is just a pawn in his dirty game to get you and me. Professor Dumbledore is right; when we go after her, we do exactly what Voldemort wants us to do"

However this did not really convince Harry. He glared at his father and Dumbledore in a mixture of disgust and fury.

"How can you be such cowards? Is your own lives so much more worth than mom's?"

James cast his eyes down, trying not to show his hurt. He had had the same thoughts before and wondered if saving Harry wouldn't be enough. Voldemort couldn't finish his ritual as long as Harry is alive. Maybe he should follow to wherever they held Lily captive and distract the deatheaters so the aurors could escape with Lily.

Professor McGonagall had walked over to Harry and given him some of the calming draught.

"Harry, it might be better if you go to your next class. That should distract you. We will inform you immediately when we receive any news."

The old witch had spoken calmly, but the look in her eyes showed that it wasn't really a suggestion. With a final glare at his father and Dumbledore, he left the room without another word. James sighed loudly and ran his hands through his hair, messing it up even more than normally. The accusing look of his son was enough to convince him that he couldn't stay here. He was a Gryffindor after all and he just couldn't stay here and let others do his job. Just when he was about to excuse himself and leave, he felt Dumbledore's hand on his shoulder.

"Don't do anything rash, my boy. This is exactly were Tom wants you. Don't let him manipulate you by engaging in his twisted game. Have faith in our aurors. I would appreciate it if you'd stay here with us"

James shot Dumbledore an annoyed look but understood that the old wizard wouldn't listen to objections. The former headmaster was aware of James' intention and knew that he couldn't let him out of his sight. Just then he heard the flames cracking in the fireplace and turned his head. The mediwitch's head floated in midair between the flames, looking slightly relieved.

"I just wanted to inform you that Hagrid has recovered consciousness."

Then with a plop he was gone.

"You should accompany us to the hospital wing, James. Dumbledore insisted. "There won't be any news about Lily for a little while anyway."

The black-haired wizard nodded mutely. He knew that the old wizard would have a close watch on him to make sure he wouldn't go after Lily. They arrived at the hospital wing several minutes later and were led to Hagrid's bed by a very aggravated Poppy.

"Whoever did that was truly evil. Such a strong poison..." she muttered angrily before she turned her stern gaze on Dumbledore.

"I insist that you keep it short, Professor. Hagrid is my patient and he should not be distressed."

Dumbledore nodded curtly and the mediwitch returned to her office.

McGonagall followed her to find out the details about Hagrid's condition while Dumbledore and James sat down on Hagrid's bed.

The gamekeeper looked gravely ill. What they could see of his face was slightly green and large parts of the skin were covered with tiny black boils. His hands were shaking and his eyes were sunk in, which gave him the look of somebody who'd been sick for weeks.

"Oh my... Pr'fessor. I'm never goin' ter drink this brew again" the half-giant groaned.

"Hagrid, can you tell me what happened this morning?" Dumbledore asked carefully. "What did you drink?"

"Well, I came back from the forest an' wanted ter have a bit of me firewhiskey. When I had me tankard empty I felt sick an' thought a lie-down would be good. Then I can't remember"

Dumbledore stroke his chin, thinking about what they had just heard.

"Hagrid, did you see Lily this morning?" James inquired.

"No James, didn' see her since yesterday"