Truths
By Neurotica
Twenty-Four
Harry opened his eyes painfully to reveal the blurry outline of the room he was in. He reached a hand to his face and felt something missing—somehow, he had lost his glasses.
Looking around, Harry could not decipher where he was. Was he still at Hogwarts? From what he could see, the room was dark, save a sliver of light coming from a boarded up window across the room. The cold cement ground was dusty. This couldn't be Hogwarts...
Harry attempted to stand, but his legs gave way with a sharp pain in his lower back. Sniffing and rubbing the spot that hurt, Harry pushed himself against the wall.
"Sirius!" he cried out hoarsely. "Remus!"
Harry's guardians didn't answer. He began to cry harder. He wanted to go home, away from wherever he was now. The small room reminded him strongly of the cupboard under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house. But Harry couldn't be back there; Remus and Sirius promised he would never have to go back there again.
Harry winced as he pulled his knees to his chest. Once of his shoes was missing, and his jacket was torn and dirty. Unexpectedly, a pain Harry had never felt before erupted in his forehead. Harry clapped his hand against his lightning bolt scar. It felt as though his head was about to burst any second. Harry cried louder, wishing with everything he had that someone would find him. The pain in his head stopped just as abruptly as it had started.
The door to the room slowly opened with a creak. Through his tears and puffy, red eyes, Harry could see a silhouette in the door way. The figure lit the tip of his wand and pointed it inside the room, searching. After a few seconds, the light stopped on Harry. Harry closed his eyes tightly against the invasion of sudden light.
He could hear the scuffling of shoes across the dusty floor, and heard heavy breathing stop just in front of him. Harry looked up and felt his stomach sink; this was not who he wanted to find him.
The figure was a short, fat, bald man. His watery blue eyes were staring down at Harry with the glow of the light. The man knelt down and looked into Harry's shining green eyes. If Harry knew what it meant, he would know that the man's eyes showed recognition, and perhaps little remorse.
"Sirius," Harry tried to shout; it came out as a hoarse whisper.
"H-he won't b-be c-coming for you," the man stuttered.
"Sirius!" Harry finally screamed.
The man clapped his hand hard over Harry's mouth. Harry opened his mouth again to scream, and instead, bit down hard on the man's hand. The man jumped back and yelped.
Harry stood as best he could and made to run from the room. The man turned and pointed his wand at the boy, and yelled a word Harry had never heard before. A bright flash of light flew across the room and hit Harry in the back, pulling him away from the door and causing him to smash into a wall.
Harry heard a sickening crack over his cries of pain; his leg had broken.
The man stood and crossed to where Harry had fallen. The boy was curled up holding his leg. He silenced Harry's cries and screams with a wave of his wand and shot out ropes, binding Harry's arms and legs tightly.
Without another word, the man left the room, leaving Harry to cry silently.
Remus stood next to Sirius recalling something Lily had once told him: some Muggle called Murphy had said "Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong." Well, at the moment, things could not get any more wrong than this.
"What—is—he—doing—here?" Sirius said through gritted teeth. Snape turned in the chair he was seated in and sneered at the two new arrivals.
Dumbledore slowly stood and motioned for Sirius and Remus to take a seat before he spoke. "I have asked Severus to join us. He may be of some assistance."
Remus raised a skeptical eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He silently led Sirius to the sofa next to Dumbledore's desk that they had become so familiar with. He was careful to sit closest to Snape or Sirius might have attacked him.
The two of them sat. Sirius hadn't removed his eyes from Snape; Remus looked to Dumbledore for what he hoped would be a very good explanation.
There was a dreadfully tense silence before Sirius growled, still glaring at Snape, "Well?"
With half a glance at Snape, Dumbledore spoke. "In order to find Harry, Severus has offered to track down certain followers of Voldemort for information. This afternoon, he received an invitation to meet with Lucius Malfoy at an undisclosed location. Severus believes—and I must agree with him—that this location is where we will find Harry."
Remus narrowed his eyes slightly. "Why would Malfoy invite Snape to wherever Harry is? If Malfoy is hiding Harry somewhere, wouldn't he want to keep that information to himself?"
Dumbledore looked at Snape once more. This time a silent question must have passed between them; Snape nodded once.
"During the war," Dumbledore began, "I am sure you will recall the odds against the light side once Voldemort began recruiting spies. At that time, the only safe circle in the wizarding world was the Order of the Phoenix. This, of course, was before Pettigrew showed his true colors. We were backed against a wall; many of our top members were being brutally murdered. A year after your graduation from Hogwarts, Severus came to me and presented the Dark Mark that is still branded upon his arm."
"Hold on one damned second!" Sirius said loudly. "He's a bloody Death Eater? And you expect us to trust him to get my godson back?"
Remus silenced him with a sharp look. He turned back to Dumbledore, and a few things clicked in his mind. "Snape was the spy..." he said quietly.
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. For the few remaining years of Voldemort's reign, Severus reported information to me in order to prevent many attacks. It was he who informed me of a traitor on our side, though he did not know who. Severus realized somebody was passing information regarding Lily and James Potter to Voldemort. And he did this at great risk to himself."
Sirius finally moved his eyes away from Snape, and onto Dumbledore. "And what makes you think, sir, that he's actually switched sides? How do you know that he isn't still working for Voldemort?"
"That, Sirius, is between myself and Severus," Dumbledore said, ending the discussion of Snape's loyalty. Even Sirius wasn't stupid enough to pick a fight with the Headmaster. "The matter at hand is finding out where Harry is and bringing him back safely. I think we can all agree on that."
Sirius and Remus nodded; neither looked to see if Snape agreed.
"I have arranged for a small group of Aurors, including Alastor Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt, to track down the location Severus will be arriving this evening. He will leave just after the start of term feast. I, along with a select group of Order members will meet at Sirius' old home and devise a plan from there."
Remus opened his mouth to speak, but Sirius beat him. "We're going, too," he said firmly as though begging for an argument from the headmaster.
Dumbledore nodded. "Of course. I would not ask you to stay behind. Until the feast has ended, however, I must ask the two of you to go to Number Twelve and await further instructions. Alastor and Kingsley will be awaiting your arrival."
"So we just... wait?" Sirius said loudly, his temper boiling over. "By the time the damn feast is done, Harry could be..." he trailed off, looking at the floor.
"Potter will not be harmed yet," Snape spoke for the first time since their arrival.
"What makes you think that?" Remus asked as calmly as he could.
"Because he is needed for something else, something more terrible. He would be of no use if he was dead," Snape replied softly, not looking at the other two wizards.
Remus tiredly rubbed his face with his hands and glanced at Sirius. His friend was beginning to shake—it was a good sign that he was about to lose his temper completely. Remus had to get him away from Snape before Sirius took out all his anger on the Slytherin.
Remus' temper was not fairing much better. How could Snape sit there and speak so calmly about what was happening to Harry when he and Sirius were ready to lose their minds with worry? Remus had to remind himself that Snape never liked James and the Marauders, and that hatred probably stretched to Harry as well.
"The two of you should be off," Dumbledore said quietly. "Alastor and Kingsley are waiting."
Remus shakily stood and a moment later, so did Sirius. Dumbledore led them to the fireplace, handed them the jar of Floo powder and watched as Remus and Sirius said the address of their destination. The two wizards disappeared in a whirl of green flames.
Dumbledore turned back to Snape. "Come, Severus, we must prepare for this evening," he said.
Snape nodded and followed Dumbledore from the room, instinctively grasping his left forearm.
It was sure to be a long night…
"Lucius," hissed the high voice from behind the chair.
Lucius Malfoy held back the urge to gulp in fear and crossed the room. There was only one thing in the entire world that Malfoy feared, and that was the wrath of the Dark Lord. Though he'd supported his master since before his graduation from Hogwarts many years ago, though he too felt the mudbloods and half-breeds should be disposed of, Malfoy never knew what to expect when it came to his master. Any meeting could mean certain death or torture. Malfoy had seen his fair share of both. Hell, he had caused his fair share of both. Despite this, the voice of the Dark Lord, no matter how weak, was enough to make any man's skin tingle.
Malfoy approached the chair quickly, but cautiously and knelt before it, his head bowed. "My Lord," he spoke softly.
"Everything is in order for tonight, Lucius?"
"Yes, my Lord," Malfoy said, not daring to look up.
"Severus?"
"He will arrive to assist us just after the feast at Hogwarts, my Lord. Dumbledore believes he is merely going to Diagon Alley for the night."
"Dumbledore is not ignorant, Lucius. But he is too trusting for his own good," the Dark Lord hissed coldly.
"Yes, my Lord," Lucius agreed.
"And the boy?"
"Pettigrew is tending to him, my Lord."
"Tonight is the night, Lucius. Tonight, Lord Voldemort will return to power, and Harry Potter will finally meet his fate."
Sirius stepped out of the fire just after Remus in the basement kitchen of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
Shacklebolt and Moody sat at the wooden table just in front of them, waiting for the two younger wizards to dust themselves off.
Sirius watched Remus look around the kitchen in mild interest. "You think this is bad," he said flatly, "wait until you see the rest of the house."
"Any news?" Moody growled.
Sirius shook his head. "We're just supposed to... wait," he said bitterly.
Moody nodded.
Sirius and Remus sat at the table and stared at the now empty fireplace grate.
Waiting... If there was one thing Sirius Black hated above all other things, it was waiting. He hated waiting almost as much as he hated that grease ball Snape—and that is saying something. This was probably the worst wait of his entire life. Waiting to find Harry... Waiting to know whether he would ever see his godson alive and well, smiling and laughing again.
The tension in the room was mounting. All four wizards wanted—needed—to do something... anything. No Auror enjoyed the feeling of helplessness in this sort of situation. And though Remus wasn't an Auror, Sirius was sure he wasn't enjoying it much either.
"Why would You-Know-Who take a six-year-old," Kingsley asked, breaking the silence.
"Cause he's a sick, twisted son of a bitch," Sirius muttered angrily.
"Dumbledore seems to think that You-Know-Who needs Potter to get his powers back," Moody growled quietly.
"How, though?" Kingsley asked. "How is that even possible?"
"There are ways," Remus said quietly. The other three looked at him curiously. "I don't know much about them, but it is possible for Voldemort to return to full body and power. There's one I read about a few years ago that requires the bone of the father, flesh of the servant, and blood of the enemy."
"And that can resurrect him?" Sirius asked.
Remus nodded. "There are others, but that's the one that really stuck out in my mind."
"While we're waiting for Dumbledore, maybe we should look the others up. That way we can know what we're possibly dealing with," Kingsley said.
"You'll probably find everything you need in my father's study. Just be careful; some of those books bite... Literally," Sirius said.
Remus raised an eyebrow. Sirius stood and led Remus up the kitchen stairs and through the dark dusty hallways.
Remus spotted the moth eaten curtain, and he thought he saw something move behind it.
"I'm sure you'll be meeting my dear mother at some point. But if I were you, I would postpone that moment as long as possible," Sirius whispered ahead of him.
Up the stairs they went, passing closed doors, past the house-elves' heads on the walls.
"So where's your old room?" Remus asked quietly.
"Back there." Sirius pointed over Remus' shoulder. "There's really nothing interesting in there. My great-great grandfather's portrait is in there, or so Dumbledore says, but I haven't been in there in years. Here we are, the Black family library."
Sirius opened the double doors and allowed Remus to enter first. Upon an initial look, the library didn't look much different than the Hogwarts library. On further inspection, Remus realized this assumption was only partially correct; the Black's library looked exactly like the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library.
Remus wandered cautiously around for a few minutes, examining the books, trying to find something about resurrecting the most evil wizard in history. He turned around and spotted Sirius leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed, and his face set.
"You okay?" Remus asked quietly.
"No," Sirius replied. "You?"
"No," Remus admitted.
"We shouldn't be here, Remus. We need to be out there, finding Harry. God only knows where he is..."
"I feel the same, but we have to be patient. Dumbledore knows what he's doing, even if we don't like it. And even if we did know where Harry is, do you really think it wise to just burst in there? Who knows how many Death Eaters are waiting for us to do just that. All we can do now is prepare for when we do go, and it won't be long. Soon, we will have Harry back and we can go back to living our lives. It'll be okay, Sirius," Remus said.
Sirius did not reply. Instead he nodded and left the library so that Remus could do his research. As he opened a book about Dark Magic, Remus could only hope there was no firewhiskey in the house...
Harry awoke once more, but didn't dare open his eyes. Maybe if he thought really hard, he could get back to Sirius and Remus.
His leg and back hurt badly, he was hungry and cold, and he wanted his family. But that man said that Sirius wasn't coming for him. Harry didn't want to believe him, but he couldn't help but wonder why Sirius was just letting him sit there, hurting.
Maybe Harry had done something bad. Maybe Sirius and Remus didn't want a freak like him around anymore. These thoughts made Harry cry harder, though he made no sound. He struggled against his rope bonds, but they didn't budge. He tried to scream out, but the only sound in the room was that of insects scuttling around between the walls.
What was going to happen to him?
Harry looked over to the boarded up window across from him. The light looked like the sun would go down soon.
How long would he be here?
He had thought about escaping, trying to get away from this place, but even if he could get out of the ropes, his leg wouldn't allow it.
Still crying, Harry pushed himself with his good leg back to the wall. He would just have to wait for someone to come for him. Harry hoped they would come soon.