Disclaimer: By now, you know all the disclaimers and warnings. If you don't, I suggest you refer to chapters 1 through 10.
Back from Beyond the Veil, Part 14
It took quite a while for Sirius and Remus to wake the still-sleeping girls, and to bring Hermione back to her senses. Finally, all four girls were awake and aware, standing in the kitchen with the two men and looking extremely worried.
"I can't believe they're gone!" Sirius brought his fist down on the table with a tremendous crash that made the others jump. His eyes flashed angrily as he looked at Hermione. "How could you have let them go? They'll get killed!"
"Don't you think I know that?" Hermione cried. She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her nightshirt. "Sirius, I didn't want them to go! I begged R- I begged them to stay. I knew it was something they couldn't handle alone! But they wouldn't listen!"
"You didn't try hard enough!" Sirius shouted. "My God, Hermione, you thought sleeping with Ron would make a difference!"
Hermione reeled as if slapped. So it was obvious. But she didn't back down, though her voice was wavering. "I love Ron. I tried to make him see the dangers of what he was planning on doing. If we... if we made love, so what?" Her temper flared. "And what difference is it to you? You don't care about Ron! You only care about Harry. So worry about him, and keep your nose out of anything Ron and I might have done together!"
His eyes narrowed and he actually raised his hand to slap her. Hermione stood her ground, her jaw tightened, waiting for the slap. But it never came. Sirius lowered his hand, rubbing unconsciously at the scar on his wrist. He looked away from her, seemingly in an attempt to control himself. When he spoke again, it was in a voice of determined calm.
"I'm scared for all of them, Hermione. No matter how distantly, Ron and his brothers are family to me. I care for them as much as I care for Harry. I'm... just worried."
Remus took his mate's hand and squeezed it gently. "The important thing now is finding the boys. Where would they have gone?"
"Malfoy Manor," Ginny spoke up at once. "George really thinks the Malfoys are hiding Bellatrix and her husband there. They could be hiding more Death Eaters as well, maybe even the whole group that escaped from Azkaban last term." She bit her lip; she had to tell them what Harry had told her. "Harry said to me last night that - that he thinks You-Know-Who might... might know they're coming, too."
"What!" Sirius and Remus stared at her in disbelief.
"He said he felt his scar prickling," Ginny confessed. "When George and Bill were arguing. He thinks Voldemort was listening in on his thoughts, and knows what the boys are going to do!"
"Shite." Sirius was deathly white.
"But Bill wasn't going to let that happen," Remus said, a cold feeling creeping up his spine. "He was against the idea from the very beginning."
"Bill ees gone." Fleur said hollowly. "'E 'as been kidnapped by ze Death Eaters."
A dread silence filled the room. Fleur sank into a chair and began to cry. Ginny moved to comfort her, while the others tried to make sense of the whole situation. In a manner of weeks, life had been so rudely interrupted and abruptly turned around. Would they ever be able to get back to a normal life?
It was a silent and serious group that got off the Knight Bus in Wiltshire. Harry, Ron, George, Charlie, and Percy stood on the curb with their hands in their pockets as the bright purple bus zoomed off, exchanging glum looks. The prospect of storming Malfoy Manor was seeming more and more idiotic as they continued on; but what choice did they have? Bill was being held hostage there, and they were the only ones that could help.
"Are you ready to go?" George asked faintly.
"I'm scared shitless," Ron managed through numb lips. "But we have to do this, don't we?"
"It's the first time we've ever done something like this without... without the help of the Order or Dumbledore or somebody," Charlie said. "But we have to. If we don't, we might as well start planning Bill's funeral, too. He's as good as dead without us."
Harry rubbed at his scar. It had been prickling all throughout their ride on the Knight Bus, and was now throbbing with white-hot pain. Whether it was because Voldemort was listening in on his thoughts again he couldn't tell; but he had a strong, uneasy feeling that the Dark Lord knew everything about their plan. He probably knew even now that they were almost at the Malfoys'. He swallowed hard. The possibility of death hadn't really struck home yet, but it was slowly dawning on him. If he died, it was all over. The world would succumb to Voldemort. Like it or not, believe it or not, Harry knew he was the only one who could defeat Voldemort. If he died, it would leave the world open to Voldemort's tyranny.
He couldn't help but think of the people whose lives and futures were riding on his success. Sirius and Remus... he hadn't even been able to see them once more before jumping into the situation. Ginny - he had just as good as abandoned her. Hermione - his other best friend. She would be completely crushed if anything happened to him and Ron. Bill - his fate was depending on what his brothers and Harry did next. And all the others... Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Dumbledore, his friends at school, the rest of the Order... the people who had stood beside him, supported him, even sacrificed for him. It would be like letting them all down.
Death was not an option.
The boys all exchanged last looks. It was time. Their feet carried them, seemingly on their own, down the cobbled street which led to the Malfoys' enormous, secluded estate.
"I can't get in touch with anyone!" Sirius struck the wall in frustration. He had been trying to get ahold of Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, anyone who might be able to help. He hadn't been able to reach a single one of them. "Where are they all?"
Remus shook his head as he entered the kitchen. "I can't get in contact with Molly and Arthur, Sirius. Something's very wrong." His hazel eyes were plainly terrified as he looked up at his lover. "I don't know if the charm the boys placed on the house is interfering with our communications or not, but nothing's working. We can hardly start communicating through the Floo Network - Dumbledore will be furious to know we even used it to get here this morning. What are we going to do?"
Sirius was silent. He could sense the eyes of Remus and the girls boring into him, waiting for his answer. He looked down at his hands, twisting his father's ring around and around on his finger. He bit his lip.
"I think it might be down to us now," he said slowly.
Remus looked alarmed. "'Down to us'? Sirius, what are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. We're the only ones who know where the boys have gone. We're the only ones who can do anything. We can't reach Dumbledore or the rest of the Order. There's no one we can go to. We have to take things into our own hands."
"We can go and fetch the boys," Penelope said, "But they've had such a head start... Sirius, I'm afraid they'll be at the Malfoys before we can reach them..."
"Even if they aren't, we can't go barging into the Malfoys' to save Bill," Ginny whispered. "None of us are Aurors. We don't know anything. You and Remus can fight, but us..." she looked around at Hermione, Fleur, and Penelope. "Fleur and Penny are in the Order too. But none of us are experts at dueling. The Death Eaters would kill us all in the blink of an eye. But without help, You-Know-Who will... will... be angry, and he'll... murder Bill."
"We're damned if we do, and damned if we don't," Sirius said flatly. "I know what you mean, Ginny. It's going to be a lose-lose situation no matter what anybody does. Without Dumbledore, we're all screwed." He continued to twist the ring. "I can't let this happen. I can't let Harry die. Letting Harry die is like forfeiting the world to Voldemort. Everything we've done so far to keep Voldemort from achieving his goals would be wasted. The lives of the people who died fighting Voldemort would be in vain." He clenched his fists as James' and Lily's faces floated to the surface of his mind. "I don't want that to happen."
"But 'ow can we 'ope to do anytheeing?" Fleur whispered. "We 'ave no way of stopping zis."
"Bollocks," Sirius said rudely. He took a deep breath. "We have my father's ring." He glared down at it in distaste. "Fleur, I hate doing this. I hate putting my trust in my family. But, if we can... stop Voldemort by using my family's power, it would be worth it."
The words struck a chord in Remus' memory. He remembered the dream he had had shortly before leaving France, in which Sirius had uttered almost the same words. He remembered how Sirius had vowed to keep the people he loved safe. He remembered how Sirius had asked to be forgiven if the ring needed to be used.
"You don't even know how to use it properly," Hermione said.
"It's true I can't wield it in the capacity my father and my ancestors did," Sirius admitted. "But I can use it to at least hold the Death Eaters at bay long enough to get the boys out." He sighed deeply. "I can try, at least. To protect everyone."
Remus laid a hand on his lover's arm. He knew what he was about to say would send all of them into grave danger, and there was the possibility few, if any, of them would emerge alive. But he also couldn't sit around doing nothing - and neither could Sirius. It wasn't Sirius' style.
"I trust you, Siri," he said simply. "I believe in you. No matter how corny it sounds. I don't doubt you can use that ring well enough to at least hold the Death Eaters at bay while we find the boys, and rescue Bill." He looked anxiously at the girls. "You do understand the risks, don't you?" he asked quietly. "You do know what we'll be facing?"
"Of course," Fleur said, standing. Her hand was shaking, but her voice was steady. "We would 'ave not joined ze Order if we did not know ze consequences."
"We'll do anything to protect the ones we love," Penelope added.
Ginny nodded in assent. Hermione took a deep breath. "We have to do our best to keep everyone safe," she whispered.
Sirius looked at their grim but determined faces and nodded. "All right. Let's go."
Lucius Malfoy opened the door of his basement dungeon and looked around. Bill was lying still in his cell, either asleep or unconscious. Bella sat on a stool near the doorway, looking restless as she filed her nails. Voldemort was gone.
"Bella, where is the Dark Lord?" Lucius asked, approaching his sister-in-law.
"He returned to his hideout," she said, shifting. "He made me keep a lookout on Bill. Apparently Rookwood and Dolohov have important things to tell him about the Ministry."
"What are we going to do when those brat Weasleys and the damned Potter boy show up?" Lucius hissed.
She fixed him with her cold, midnight-blue eyes. "The Dark Lord has told us to capture Potter. We can do what we like with the Weasleys, as long as we save Potter for him."
Lucius twisted a lock of his long pale-blond hair around his finger. After everything that had happened at the Ministry back in June, he had been certain Voldemort would no longer leave his Death Eaters to their own devices. But he also knew Bellatrix was highest in Voldemort's esteem. Voldemort trusted her, even after the incident with the prophecy. If he thought Bellatrix could take on Potter and the Weasleys, it was certainly possible.
It wasn't all up to the two of them, either. Rodolphus and Rabastan were there as well, and Narcissa was prepared to fight too. Though his wife was not an official Death Eater, Lucius knew she was devoted to Voldemort's cause and would do anything the Dark Lord - or he himself - asked her to do. Even if it meant killing that loathsome cousin of hers.
"I wish Regulus was here," Bellatrix muttered from beside him.
Lucius looked hard at her. "Are you jesting? Regulus? Bella, he was a coward. A bloody coward! He wouldn't bloody his hands over something like this."
She glared. "Maybe he didn't live up to the Dark Lord's expectations. But Regulus could be just as mean as the rest of us. He knew what made Sirius tick." She looked away. It was hard to explain, but she had always loved Regulus. He was, in her opinion, just what a cousin should be. He was exactly the way a Black should be. While his elder brother had been parading around with Mudbloods and Mudblood-lovers, Regulus had stuck close to her and her Slytherin friends. While Sirius thought it perfectly fine to shag a werewolf of the same sex, Regulus had taken an interest in only the most beautiful pure-blooded girls. And while Sirius had renounced all claim to the family, and had walked out on them with Andromeda in tow, Regulus had been prepared to take up his position as the new heir to the Black family. His death had been a terrible blow to Bellatrix, even though it had been ordered by the man she so faithfully followed.
"When do you think Potter and his friends will show up?" she asked, turning the conversation away from Regulus. "They're overdue."
"They might be getting hesitant," Lucius responded coolly. "Even the best superheroes get cold feet at times."
"What if someone is interfering?" Bellatrix asked. "Dumbledore, for instance - the man is always ruining the Dark Lord's plans -"
"The Dark Lord has created a diversion, Bella," Lucius answered. "He knew there could be no way to lure Potter here if Dumbledore was able to get wind of what's going on. While Potter draws closer, Dumbledore and his cronies - including your beloved cousin - are busy with other matters. The hags are raising a ruckus in France. The giants are rebelling in the mountains. Other Death Eaters are in various other locations, causing trouble. Dumbledore won't know what's happening until it's much too late."
Andromeda Tonks stared up at the sky, which was becoming grey and overcast. Something was bothering her. It was a kind of feeling, gnawing away at her mind. Something that was very urgent, though she couldn't place it. It felt like something was wrong, but the feeling was vaguely troubling; the way one might feel upon hearing about a killer earthquake in a far-off country.
She raised one slender, elegant hand to her lips and chewed nervously on a fingernail without realising what she was doing. What was wrong? What was bugging her like this?
The screen door creaked open and banged shut. Nymphadora called out across the garden. "Mum, are you okay?"
Andromeda turned as her daughter crossed the garden towards her. "What? Oh, my dear. I'm fine."
"You don't look fine. Is something bothering you?"
"No... not exactly..." her brow creased as she fingered the petals of one of her tiger lilies.
"Is it something serious?" Tonks persisted.
Her mother's eyes widened. Serious... Sirius.
"He wouldn't," she whispered, almost to herself.
Tonks looked confused. "What? Who wouldn't what? Mum?"
Her mother looked at her. A dazed, fearful look was in her dark-blue eyes. "Oh, darling... I think... that is, if Sirius is doing what I think he's going to do - oh, I hope -" she didn't finish her sentence, but hurried past her thunderstruck daughter and into the house. She grabbed her jasmine-coloured cloak and pulled it on. As soon as Nymphadora had spoken, Andromeda had realised just what had been bothering her. Something inside her had sensed that Sirius was up to something. Whatever it was, it could be dangerous.
Tonks burst into the house just in time to hear her mother cry, "The Burrow!" and see her disappear into the fireplace with a flash of green flames.
"God - Mum!" Not bothering with her own hot-pink cloak, Tonks hurried into the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo Powder. "The Burrow!"
As the familiar spinning sensation overtook her, Tonks closed her eyes and prayed they wouldn't be too late.
To Be Continued...
(A/N: I have a hard time with Bill being kidnapped. I'm always tempted to write 'Mouldy Voldie will kill Bill', or something like that, and I have to erase 'kill' and type in 'murder'. I don't want to write 'kill Bill'. It reminds me of those awful movies with Uma Thurman in them.
Secondly, I recently got a review for Chapter 1 in which the person (who shall remain anonymous; not that I protect identities, it's just that I can't remember their name and I'm too lazy to look it up) commented that they couldn't read my story because Remus called Sirius 'love'. Well! They should be glad they didn't reach the beginning of Chapter 3! This person also said they were certain I didn't mean to imply a Sirius/Remus relationship. Pffft. They don't know me very well, do they? Trust me - when I have Remus call Sirius 'love', I mean it. Those two are most definitely in love.
I'm sorry if what I believe clashes with what you believe, and if you think homosexuality is immoral or something, than I suggest you steer clear of every and all of my stories in the future. EVERY story I write has at least a reference to homosexuality. It's simple enough - if you don't like it, don't read it. That's why I post warnings at the beginning of every story - hell, every chapter! If you're too lazy to read the warnings and you encounter something you don't want to read, it's your own fault. Deal with it. That's why God invented the 'back' button.)
