Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers and its various publishers own Harry Potter. No money is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who's reading this story. Notes to reviewers are at the end of the chapter. I do love hearing from people!
Chapter 29
Rescue
A big snowstorm at the beginning of March had brought a few extra weeks of cold weather, and things were just now beginning to thaw. Little purple flowers poked through the patches of snow underneath his feet as Harry trudged toward the Magical Creatures enclosure. The sun had already set. He'd have to hurry if he wanted to be on time to meet Hagrid.
Harry had spent a lot of his evenings in the enclosure, tending Hagrid's menagerie of animals and working on his green wood fairy project with Ernie MacMillan. While the fairies' language was incomprehensible, they still made their feelings known. Angry wood fairies could bite through even the thickest gloves, as Harry had found out the hard way. Even so, he thought they were a lot easier to deal with than people these days.
As Harry drew close to the Magical Creatures compound near the forest, he saw Hagrid, wearing a moleskin overcoat and carrying two big buckets.
The half-giant greeted Harry pleasantly. "Reckon it's time to let them fairies return to the forest, 'Arry," he said. "Found one of them tippin' over the Jobberknoll cages last night. Fairies and Jobberknolls are not a good mix."
"I'll talk to Ernie. He said he wanted to try one more charm to try to understand their speech. I'll admit, I wouldn't mind speaking to one of them for a change." Harry shook his left hand. The fairy bite on his index finger still stung a bit.
Hagrid smiled wistfully, "Ah, the wee little creatures couldn't harm a fly. They're just playful, that's all. Yeh have a way with 'em, Harry."
"Er…thanks, Hagrid." Harry smiled and hid his red, sore hands inside his pockets.
Dumping the contents of his buckets onto the compost heap, Hagrid said cheerfully, "Did you 'ear the news? Word has it that Professor Snape's reported in. He's holed up in some woods near Abergavenny, still on young Malfoy's trail."
Harry didn't say anything, choosing instead to open and shut his mouth a few times. Questions coursed through his mind, but he wasn't sure that he should ask Hagrid any of them. If they were closing in on Malfoy, was the Order there? Was Remus with them?
At Harry's lack of response, Hagrid said, "Perhaps I shouldn't've said. Dumbledore didn't mention it was anythin' secret when he gave me the word at dinner." Hagrid looked at Harry appraisingly. "I guess yeh've had this on yer mind lately…it's bin good of yeh ter come and help me."
Although his thoughts were still racing, Harry recovered slightly and said, "I…we'll all be glad to see Professor Snape…of course. Hope everything goes all right." Harry knew he didn't mean a word of it. What he really meant was that he wished Professor Snape had taken him up on his first offer of help. Now that he'd been training, he could make a difference on a mission like this. The fact that they didn't want his help with the rescue made him feel worthless.
Then, the sight of Ginny's rucksack leaning against the wall of Hagrid's shed pushed all other thoughts aside. Harry had seen her study group at dinner, but Ginny hadn't shown up — nor had she answered her mirror either. Between the leftover snow and the already cold night, he could see footprints leading away from her bag toward the dark forest.
He finished Hagrid's chores quickly and followed them. The frozen ground crunched under Harry's feet as he carefully tracked Ginny's footprints across the frosty grounds. Moody's lessons about tracking someone silently were cast aside in his concern for her safety. She had obviously gone into the Forbidden Forest. What could she want in there?
In the cold mist of the early spring night, a half moon shone with a glowing ring around it. Despite the darkness and the freezing temperature, the forest seemed awake and alive. Nocturnal birds fluttered in the canopy overhead. Some small creature scurried through the underbrush.
Harry was deep in the woods, moving slowly so he wouldn't miss any of the tracking clues, whena white figure leapt past him, paused for just a moment as if listening for something, then resumed its flight. It was a unicorn. Judging from the silvery whiteness of her coat, it was a young one. In a heartbeat, he chased after her. Something about this moment made him feel like he had done this before. Or maybe he'd just dreamed it. He began the pursuit.
Racing over tree limbs and ducking under branches, Harry ran. He didn't pay attention to the direction he was traveling. His only focus was on keeping up with the mysterious animal.
They continued their chase through the Forbidden Forest until they happened upon a clearing. Both of them stopped at the sight in front of them. Harry couldn't think why he had begun the chase, but it had led him by chance to his main objective. Ginny stood in the clearing in front of him. Four unicorns were around her. She was feeding one of them out of a bag she held in her hand, stroking the unicorn's nose as she spoke softly. A second unicorn stood behind her nuzzling against her shoulder.
High above them, the clouds stirred allowing the moonlight to shine down on the little clearing in the forest. The young unicorn shifted, cracking a twig loudly. The noise made Ginny look in their direction. Harry was rooted to the spot, mesmerized by the sight of Ginny and the unicorns.
"Harry! What are you doing here? Did you bring this one back to her mother?" Her questions tumbled out one after another without waiting for answers. She stopped when Harry reached her side.
Gently twining his hand through the fingers of her free hand, he asked, "I think the question is what are you doing out here?"
Ginny pulled her hand away and returned to her task. "I had to feed them. Hagrid shouldn't have turned them loose. The nights have been so cold, and this one's torn her leg somehow." She bent down to examine the gash closely, and said, "I think Hagrid should come out and take a look at this."
Suddenly remembering why he'd gone into the forest in the first place, Harry asked, "Why didn't you answer my call?"
Ginny stopped short. "Oh! I must've left my rucksack in Hagrid's shed when I picked up the apples…sorry."
He didn't know what to say. As always, she'd let her generous spirit carry her away. Her attitude was contagious, even these magical creatures could feel it. But, while he knew her intentions were good, they wouldn't protect her from the darker forces in the forest.
She could see he was struggling. "Are you upset with me, Harry?" she asked. "I was just so worried about the unicorns." She turned to the one closest to her and touched its mane.
Looking around at the dark trees surrounding them, he said, "Let's go back to the castle. It isn't all sweet, beautiful unicorns here...and your hands are freezing." He pulled both of her hands into his and cast a warming charm.
"You're thinking about Malfoy, aren't you?" she asked, grinning and lifting an eyebrow. "You thought I might need saving?"
In the weeks since his disappearance, many rumors had circulated about Malfoy. One said that he was hiding out in the forest near the school. Harry knew it wasn't true, but if it would help keep Ginny away, he'd pretend.
Trying to sound like he meant it, he said, "Well…he could be here. Ernie MacMillan swears that he saw Crabbe and Goyle carrying food into the forest. Hard to imagine, but there it is. Ernie wouldn't lie."
She punched his arm and laughed out loud. Bending down, she opened the bag of apples so that the unicorns could help themselves. "I think we're safe right now, Harry. I don't see Crabbe and Goyle, the Centaurs are living on the far side of the forest…and these precious creatures wouldn't be so peaceful if anything awful was nearby." She petted the nearest one affectionately.
As they began to walk back to the castle, Ginny added, "Besides, Pansy swears Malfoy's traveling in Europe with his mother. She has a postcard to prove it. So…who are you going to believe?"
They continued to talk as they walked through the forest, not in any particular hurry, content with each other's company. As they reached the edge of the forest, they were startled by the sound of branches snapping and the ground pounding. Whoever it was stopped nearby. They could hear a loud crack, a curse and someone gasping for air. It wasn't an animal.
Harry stuck his head out to get a better look. Breathing a sigh of relief, he stepped toward the figure, who was leaning on his knees and struggling to catch his breath.
"Remus, what on earth are you doing out here?" Harry asked, surprised to see his guardian.
Between deep breaths, Remus said, "Oh…Harry, I have to get to Dumbledore…I was afraid the Hogwarts gates…would be watched so I used the Apparition point in the forest." As though he just realized something, he said, "And what are you doing out here?"
Ginny stepped up out of the shadows to stand beside Harry. "He thought I was in trouble."
Feeling his face begin to burn, Harry said, "It's not past curfew. Anyway…since I'm the Defense Assistant, I'm not bound to stay out of the forest."
Remus ran his hands over his face. "We'll have to talk about this later. I really have to get to Dumbledore."
"Is this about Malfoy and Snape?" Harry asked, remembering Hagrid's comment that they'd been found.
Looking serious, Remus answered, "You know I can't tell you. I promised Dumbledore."
It sounded to Harry like Dumbledore was pulling all the strings lately, but he'd made a promise of his own to the Headmaster, so he couldn't be mad at his guardian for doing the same thing. Lupin took off running in the direction of the castle.
Left alone again, Harry and Ginny took their time returning to Gryffindor, each anxious to hear stories about the other's day. Then Harry fell silent as they walked up the stairs.
"You're awfully quiet all of a sudden," Ginny said, looking uncertain.
Harry stopped although they were only halfway up the next flight of stairs, and pulled a large red stone from his pocket. Of course, he'd shown it to her before. It was the golf ball sized ruby from the Potter box last summer.
"I knew it," Ginny said, her eyes sparkling with humor as she smiled and reached out her hand. "It was only a matter of time before you handed that over to me. It'll make a perfect necklace — or maybe a ring."
"It'd be a little heavy," Harry smiled at her joke and held it up to her. "I've been thinking about this. I'm going to use it for the tangleberry experiment tomorrow. Neville says the wood is ready. So I'll finally find out if this is good for something."
Although she was standing one step higher than he was, Ginny caught his gaze. For a moment, they just looked into each other's eyes.
Harry saw trust and admiration reflected back in hers. He couldn't believe that someone as warm and caring as Ginny would see him that way, but here she was in front of him, willing him to agree. With his free hand he reached up and touched her cheek. Then he leaned in and kissed her. Just as he was about to lose himself in the soft, delicious kiss, he felt a jolt.
They broke apart as the staircase did what staircases often did at Hogwarts -- it changed.
Ginny laughed. "For a moment there…I thought...never mind."
Although he didn't really understand, Harry laughed along with her.
They parted on the other side of the portrait hole. The common room was crowded, mostly with older students. Colin and Allison waved at Ginny from their table by the window and she headed straight for them, despite a rather disapproving look from Parvati.
Parvatiand Lavender were ensconced in front of the fire, each of them reading their Divination book. Seamus was staring at Lavender's book with his arm draped over her shoulder. He appeared to be doing his best to distract her.
Ron and Hermione occupied their usual place at the table nearby. They'd left a spot clear for Harry. After a quick greeting, Harry settled into the familiar routine of studying with his friends.
Harry opened his Potions textbook, but the words on the page made very little sense. He kept speculating about what Remus and Dumbledore might be planning.
Despite the fact that all his classmates were at least pretending to study, Seamus continued his attempts to get Lavender's attention. He tried sighing loudly several times, and whispering in her ear. Finally, he said, "What does your inner eye say about the Quidditch Cup final? Will Gryffindor win?" He grinned widely at Ron and Harry who had, of course, looked up at the mention of Quidditch.
Closing his book, Ron joined in enthusiastically. "You don't need that Divination rubbish to figure that out. We've clearly got the better team."
"We have to win," Harry said, closing his book, too. "If we tie, Hufflepuff will take the Cup on points."
Pulling his arm away from Lavender, Seamus leaned forward. "I heard Zach Smith shooting his mouth off, claiming that Hufflepuff already has their name on the Cup this year."
Harry snorted and said, "I'm not too fussed. Our chasers run circles around theirs." He looked appreciatively across the room at Ginny.
Folding his arms in front of him, Ron said, "Never thought I'd need to worry about anything Zach Smith was planning."
All the Quidditch talk succeeded where his other efforts had failed. Lavender set her book down and stood up dramatically. With a look back over her shoulder at Seamus she walked toward the portrait hole.
Seamus waggled his eyebrows at Ron and Harry, then followed her.
Shifting a stack of large books aside so she could see Harry better, Hermione asked, "Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"Do you mean Potions?" Harry asked, lifting the textbook in front of him.
While Hermione rolled her eyes, Ron groaned and said, "Yeah…I wonder who'll cover for Snape this time."
"We'll know soon enough," Hermione said. "The real question is who'll keep Crabbe and Goyle from blowing up the classroom?"
They'd had several different substitutes for Professor Snape. None of them seemed to have been warned about the inept Slytherins and with Malfoy absent, they'd seen a few close calls. So far Hermione had been able to prevent catastophe in Potions class.
"Please tell me that you'll stop helping them…" Despite this protest, Ron's sounded resigned to the fact that Hermione had appointed herself the Potions safety monitor during Snape's absence.
"I…I don't see why not!" she exclaimed. "The Slytherins don't lift a finger."
Leaning his head into the center of the table, Harry motioned to Ron and Hermione to lean close, too. "We may get to class and find Snape's back."
"What do you mean?" Hermione hissed, glancing worriedly over her shoulder at Parvati, who was now stretched out lazily on the sofa nearby.
Ron nodded grimly, as if asking the same question.
Casting a silencing charm around their table, Harry proceeded to tell them what little he knew. He told them what Hagrid had said and about Lupin's harried arrival. "Of course, I don't have any of the facts, yet," he said. "But…I thought you'd want to know…there's a chance that Snape's caught the git and they'll show up here."
"If Malfoy shows up here, I'll give him a thing or two to think about," Ron said, his hands fisting unconsciously.
In a conspiratorial whisper, Hermione said, "I doubt they'll let us anywhere near him." Her eyes shifted from one boy to the other, like she was going to organize a coup.
The last thing Harry'd meant to do was upset Hermione. "According to wizarding law, the victim has the right to confront the accused in court." Harry remembered that from when Pettigrew was captured. "If…I mean when they put him on trial for poisoning you — "
"What!" Ron shouted. "You think we'll have to wait for some phony trial?"
Ron hadn't had many nice things to say about the Wizengamot since they tried to send Harry to Azkaban for conjuring a Patronus to protect himself.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said anything," Harry muttered. He was beginning to think he shouldn't have brought the subject up. "I mean…we're not even sure Malfoy's been captured. It's just a possiblity."
Harry wondered if he'd just made things worse. He felt sick about it as he watched Hermione withdraw into herself. He would've preferred it if she were shouting like Ron.
Ron noticed Hermione's reaction, too. In a controlled voice, he said, "Ah…it'll be all right. We've been through worse."
"Never mind that," Hermione snapped. Her brow worked its way into a worried frown. "I've been thinking…and I'll need both of you to help. If Malfoy does come back to Hogwarts, we'll need to be sure that he can't escape…and don't say that we should leave it up to Dumbledore because he was in charge of keeping him locked up last time."
Harry stifled a groan as he leaned back in his chair. Visions flashed through his mind of Hermione marching them off to the library to research trapping spells for the umpteenth time. When Malfoy'd first escaped, they'd poured over one dusty book after another. They'd find Hermione in the library, swamped with an ocean of parchment, looking for just the right spell. He knew that look; Hermione was planning another assault on the restricted section.
Aloud he said, "We'll have to borrow my Invisibility Cloak back from Ginny."
Ron studied Harry suspiciously for a moment. Then he stood and said, "I'll go ask her."
When he'd walked out of hearing, Hermione said, "I wanted to ask you before. Are you ready to try the tangleberry? Neville's really nervous."
Harry was surprised. Neville never mentioned anything to him. "That's frightfully decent of him, but…why?"
"Well, I think he just wants to help somehow." Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment. "And possibly he doesn't want to mess up in front of Luna. I think he'd still like to ask her out."
Remembering the day before when he'd been making Quidditch dives to impress Ginny, Harry nodded. He could feel the weight of the ruby in his pocket.
Hermione was looking at him sympathetically.
"I guess I'm a bit nervous, too," he admitted. "All this trouble. Just for my little mystery. I hope it's all worth it."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
The following afternoon, Harry went straight to Greenhouse Twelve after his last class. He thought he'd be the first one there, but Luna was there ahead of him, taking down some rather complicated wards.
When he opened the door a thick stream of pale yellow butterflies flew out. Inside, the place was packed with plants from the floor to the ceiling. The air was warm and humid, heavily scented with soil and something floral. Some looked wildly unnatural, while others seemed perfectly normal, like the plain potted daisy in the corner. Harry considered asking Luna why the innocent looking daisy was in a wire cage, but one look at those dreamily protruding eyes, and he decided his question could wait for Neville.
"Did you bring the stone?" Luna asked.
Reaching into his inner pocket, Harry felt around for the large, oval-shaped gem. Hermione had decided early on that it was obviously meant to be the top piece of the torch. No one had argued.
Holding out his hand, palm up, Harry drew his wand and uttered a counter spell. The ruby appeared.
Her eyes popping wide open at the sight, Luna asked, "You keep it concealed?"
Harry nodded. Professor Moody had taught him many tricks of the Auror trade, but this little untraceable concealing spell had to be one of his favorites. He used it for many purposes. He could even conceal his wand, although that was difficult to explain to anyone without explaining he could do wandless magic.
Luna walked over to the small, potted tree in the center of the Greenhouse. The tangleberry graft was blooming. The branches twisted together except at the end where the leaves grew. Another crop of berries hung in green, unripened clumps under the leaves on each branch.
Harry pulled the Myrddin's torch book out of his pocket. The drawing of a tanglewood tree on the front did look remarkedly like the small tree in front of him. He turned to the page that told how to construct the torch so he'd have the spell ready when the time came.
The door of the Greenhouse blew open as Hermione, Ron and Ginny arrived with a blast of fresh air. No one wanted to miss the final experiment, but they would have to wait for Neville.
Hermione walked around the Greenhouse, inspecting the plants carefully. She reached for the daisy in the cage, and asked, "Spinal Tap Daisy?"
Nodding, Luna warned, "Don't touch the cage."
Withdrawing her hand, Hermione said, "I…I wonder where Neville is?"
No one answered. Ron and Ginny were too busy playing with a peek-a-boo flower near the door to hear her. Harry just raised his eyebrows, and continued to watch Luna prepare the tree.
A few minutes later, Neville appeared at the door completely out of breath. "I'm sorry to be late. Professor Sprout needed some help," he announced. Moving next to Luna, he asked under his breath, "Did you get it ready?"
"I've already immobilized it and put up a shield. I just hope that's enough," Luna said.
After a nervous glance at Harry, Neville said quietly, "We don't want a repeat of those berries exploding." He discussed the arrangements with Luna for a few minutes.
Harry conjured a small sphere, but didn't explain its purpose. It was just a small precaution. Despite his outward calm, he could feel the untimely descent of his heart into the pit of his stomach. This could be it -- the answer to the mystery of the torch.
Taking charge, Neville gathered everyone around the tree. "Maybe you all want to be close enough for a good view, but it wouldn't hurt for everybody to put up a shield of their own."
Perhaps thinking back to the days that poor, uncomfortable Neville had spent under the influence of the tangleberry juice, everyone drew their wands and uttered their own spell. Luna put on a large pair of goggles and a raincoat.
When everyone was ready, Neville held out his wand and cast a severing hex on the lowest limb. It was a clean break. Neville picked up the branch and handed it to Harry, smiling proudly.
Before Harry could fit the ruby into the top of the tangled branch and say the necessary words, the tangleberry branch began to shake. The berries were still green when they'd started, but they quickly ripened to a deep purple and began to quiver.
Everyone except Neville and Harry retreated to a safe distance.
"Quick, Harry." Hermione urged from behind a stack of empty pots. "Light the torch!"
But Harry had a different idea. As the berries on the severed limb exploded, he cast the time freezing spell on it, and then he quickly followed it with the containing spell that he'd learned from watching Dumbledore. The suspended spray of purple tangleberry juice flew into the small sphere in his hand.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Harry turned the now berry free branch over in his hand and inspected it closely. "Well…it seems a good length." He hesitated, the book didn't say anything about the wood having leaves, but it wasn't that specific anyway. Glancing briefly at the expectant faces of his friends -- some of whom were now peering from behind leafy plants -- Harry took courage. One way or another, they were all in this together. He placed the ruby in the tangled claws of the wood.
"Wait!" Hermione cry drew everyone's attention. "I…I just remembered the book said the torch burns as bright as sunlight." She conjured a pair of large sunglasses and put them on.
Once everyone had followed suit, Harry began to chant the words from the torch book with his wand aimed at the ruby. At first nothing happened, then the ruby began to glow. For a brief moment, the gem glowed brightly, as if on fire, then the light burst forth into a pyrotechnic display, showering Greenhouse Twelve with red sparks, and blowing out the glass ceiling overhead.
If they hadn't created shields for themselves earlier, someone might have been seriously hurt.
Ron and Ginny ran for the door. Luna tried to throw herself in front of a furry looking ficus.
Hermione and Neville were both shouting, "Finite Incantatem!"
Harry was uttering every enchantment removal spell and counter spell that came to mind. Nothing worked. The tree limb was spitting out ash and soot now. He dropped it to the Greenhouse floor as it became too hot to handle. The tangleberry branch quickly burned away to ash.
The group let out a collective sigh. Harry and Neville were covered with a layer of gray soot. Harry reached down and lifted the ruby, seemingly unharmed, out of the pile of ash on the floor. Despite all the fireworks, it was cool to his touch.
"Oh, well…back to square one," Neville said, sounding disappointed.
"I…thanks for trying, Neville…and you too, Luna." Harry looked around at the devastation in Greenhouse Twelve. This was just the sort of misery that he always brought to his friends -- havoc and destruction -- all because they tried to help him.
He felt, rather than saw, Ginny join him at his side.
"We'll help you set this place to rights," Ginny said, uttering a spell to brush off the ash covering them.
"Everyone step back and I'll 'Reparo!' this glass." Ron held his wand out expectantly.
Stepping away from the fuzzy ficus, Luna said, "I put an 'Impervius!' on this glass. It really shouldn't have shattered." For a moment she gazed intently at the ruby in Harry's hand.
Hermione joined her. "You were really very lucky. That ruby could have melted with all that power and heat," she added. "If you ever find out what that gem really does…"
"Hang on…" Harry was confused. "You said the only logical purpose for this would be to activate the torch."
She shrugged. "I was wrong," she said as though stating the obvious.
Ron and Harry looked at each other with furrowed brows.
"What's the difference?" Ginny asked. "If we don't clean this up tonight, some of these plants will suffer."
With that admonishment, they all set to work, repairing and scourgifying until most traces of the failed experiment were erased from Greenhouse Twelve.
Harry mostly worked in silence, avoiding eye contact with Neville. He didn't know what to say. Part of him wondered what they would do with the grafted tree now.
When they were about to leave the Greenhouse, Harry stuck his hand in his pocket and encountered the sphere of tangleberry juice. He pulled it out and handed it to Neville. "Here…you might find something useful to do with this."
Luna practically pounced on Neville, lifting up his hand to examine the contents of the see-through sphere in the light.
"No experiment is a total loss. We ruled out one set of variables, now we'll move on to the next." Neville shook the juice sphere slightly. "This has possibilities."
"Definitely," Luna echoed. "Possibilities."
Luna and Neville were soon deeply involved in a highly technical conversation. The two barely acknowledged anyone as they left the greenhouse.
The night was clear, as Harry and the others made their way to the main entrance of the castle. Several times, Ginny looked about to say something, but always thought better of it. Instead, she nestled her hand in Harry's, squeezing his fingers occasionally.
"You're not too disappointed, are you?" Ginny asked. "I mean, we all knew it was a long shot."
Hermione nodded and said, "I'm sure we'll find some other clue. Maybe find some real tanglewood."
Harry knew she was just trying to reassure him, but he thought back to his last search for tanglewood in Myrddin's Den. The cave was empty. It seemed he had reached a dead end.
"I'm going to find Dumbledore. Today's a tutoring day," Harry announced as they passed the Great Hall. "Maybe he'll have some thoughts about all this." He held the ruby out toward his friends, then concealed it and tucked it into a pocket.
Hermione smiled approvingly. "That makes good sense, Harry."
Shouldering his heavy rucksack, Harry made his way to the Gargoyle protecting the Headmaster's office. It took a few minutes for him to discover Dumbledore's ever-changing password. At least the old wizard always stuck to sweets.
Unannounced, he made his way up the stairs. The door opened abruptly as Harry raised his hand to knock. Rhys pushed past Harry and down the stairs with barely a mumbled greeting. Inside, Remus Lupin was seated across the desk from Dumbledore.
"Ah…Harry. I thought we'd canceled today's session," Dumbledore said.
Shaking his head as he walked in the room, Harry greeted them hesitantly, then blurted out, "Our…Herbology experiment didn't go well. So I have time…but if you're busy…"
Keeping his eyes on Dumbledore, Remus stood up to leave. "I'd better get back — "
Harry grasped Remus' arm to stop him. "Wait…can't you tell me what's going on? Something's wrong…"
As Remus met his gaze, Harry could see that he was upset.
"I lost them…" Remus' voice shook as he spoke. "We were so close. Severus knew he was taking a chance by contacting us. He said he finally had Malfoy pinned down, in this place near Abergavenny. He's been tracking Malfoy all this time…always moving around…never staying in the same place for two nights together."
"What happened?" Harry asked, trying to cover his impatience to hear the fully story.
Remus looked at Dumbledore again. This time Harry thought he caught the Headmaster's small nod. "We were too late. Draco Malfoy seems to have tricked Severus somehow -- maybe he traded him for favors with the Death Eaters. Severus couldn't've had any idea this would happen. He thought he could bring Draco back to Hogwarts."
Standing abruptly, Remus said, "I…I have to get back to headquarters…see what we can do about this. I'll mirror call you later tonight, Harry," Remus said, keeping his eyes on his hands now. He seemed uneasy, but Harry knew he wouldn't explain anything more about Order business. Dumbledore probably thought he'd already said too much.
When he'd gone, Dumbledore didn't say anything about the story Remus had just told. They didn't work on their customary conjuring lesson either. Instead, he and Harry talked about the experiment with the tangleberry bush.
Dumbledore didn't have any ideas about the ruby, other than it must either hold some powerful enchantments or charms, of an unknown origin. "Alas, the answer may be lost in time, some forgotten magic that has passed out of all knowledge…we may never know."
Harry felt like the Headmaster was giving him his true opinion about the ruby. It was something, but it wasn't enough.
Deciding nothing ventured, nothing gained, Harry switched subjects. "Has anyone going after him?" Harry asked, sure that Dumbledore would know he meant Snape. "I mean…Remus looked upset...and he seemed to be in a hurry..." He knew it was unlikely that the Headmaster would suddenly change his mind and include him, but he had to try.
"He feels responsible for Severus' fate," Dumbledore said.
"You mean because his team should have been there sooner?" Harry asked, growing impatient.
"If his team had been faster, things might have gone differently." Dumbledore steepled his fingers and looked down his nose in a kindly fashion. "Failures and setbacks are a part of life. Your guardian understands that, and he'll come to terms with this. Sometimes it's only too easy to blame ourselves for things that are beyond our control."
Harry felt like smashing something. Seemed to him that very little was beyond Dumbledore's control these days. Wasn't he the one making everyone promise him things? Obviously, Remus was planning to go after Snape at this Death Eater camp and they didn't want him to know. "I just want to help," he said, his lips drawing into a thin line.
"Rest assured that there is nothing for you to do." Dumbledore smiled and stood, bringing an end to the conversation. "I do understand, Harry. I appreciate that you're doing your best to cooperate with the current situation. And I hope you'll respect my wishes and keep this new information to yourself. I know Miss Granger in particular -- "
Bristling at the notion that his friends couldn't be trusted, Harry said, "She can keep a secret. Anyway, she already knows that Snape contacted the Order."
The Headmaster looked up at Harry sharply. The portraits murmured.
Shrugging his shoulders, Harry said, "This is Hogwarts. It's not an easy place to keep a secret." He looked around at the various portraits on the walls, thinking they should know since they were probably responsible for reporting things to Dumbledore.
"But not impossible…" Dumbledore replied with his characteristic twinkle. "I'm only suggesting that you wait until we have real news of Professor Snape's progress before you tell your friends."
"Of course…I won't tell her of these latest developments if you think it will make any difference."
Realizing that the Headmaster had no intention of explaining any of his plans, Harry left. Of course, he knew they must be working on a strategy to rescue Professor Snape. Dumbledore just didn't want him to be a part of it. Maybe he could convince Remus to explain things later.
Although he didn't have much time before the D.A. meeting, Harry decided to blow off some steam by taking apart a few training dummies. He headed to the Room of Requirement.
After setting things up for the meeting, Harry stood alone in the center of the room. Ron and Hermione weren't expected for a few minutes, so Harry took his sword out of his cloak. He still kept it transformed as a cloak pin, but he also kept a concealing charm on it. This way, no one could tell he was armed. He felt the familiar surge of power as he took the sword in his hand.
Very few people had even seen the sword. Harry intended to keep it a close secret as he sometimes wondered if this was the power that the prophecy had predicted. The sword's energy was palpable. He could feel it flow through him whenever he lifted it. Even Rhys -- who had seen him practice with the sword on occasion -- did not know the full extent of its power.
He went through some practice moves and the sword began to hum in his hands. Just for fun, he brought one of the training dummies to life and began to spar using the powerful weapon. Of course the dummy never had a chance. Harry obliterated it.
"Wow! Where'd you get that!" someone shouted from the entrance.
Quickly transfiguring the sword back into a cloak pin and concealing it, Harry pulled out his wand out and said, "I conjured it." Turning around, he saw that the early arriver was Zach Smith.
"Are we gonna learn that spell?" Zach asked.
Trying to hide his annoyance with himself for being so careless, Harry didn't answer Zach's question. Instead, he busied himself with repairing the unfortunate training dummy. Zach followed him around the room, and repeated his question.
This time Harry was saved from answering by the entrance of Sophie Moon and Blaise Zabini. The two of them had become inseparable since Christmas. Eleanor Baddock followed them through the door and drew Zach's attention.
Instead of discussing the sword, Harry began explaining the defense charm they'd be working on this evening.
Ginny worked out with her study group, partnering with Colin Creevey for most of the sparring. Both of them would probably get an outstanding on their Defense O.W.L. despite the fact that Colin had an unfortunate habit of making his opponent trip instead of stunning them with Stumblefy! instead of Stupefy!
Hermione came over to Harry during their break. "Is something going on, Harry? You seem really preoccupied tonight."
One look at her serious expression and Harry knew there was no way to fool her. "I…I saw Lupin earlier." He shrugged as though it didn't matter. "I just can't wait to finish talking to him. He said he'd call me later. Maybe we can just make this an early night?"
She looked at him and smiled. "I thought you might be disappointed about…you know…this afternoon."
With a pang of guilt, Harry realized that he wasn't the only one whose hopes had been dashed. After all her loyal help, he couldn't disappoint Hermione's hope of recapturing Malfoy. For a moment, he was glad he couldn't tell her.
He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "I think we…did our best with that."
To Harry's relief, Hermione seemed to accept this rather lame statement. She went back to helping the younger D.A. students.
Harry adjourned the meeting early, but he wasn't in the mood to go back to Gryffindor tower, and face his friends. He wanted to think of a way to approach Remus about including him on the rescue. They were probably planning it right now.
He decided to return the training dummies to the fencing room, hoping that would give him a chance to talk to Remus without being overhead. Maybe if he stayed out late enough, Ron and Hermione would be asleep. He hated keeping this secret from them. It felt like lying.
When he arrived in the fencing room, the lights were already on. Despite the late hour, Rhys was inside, surrounded by the remains of many practice dummies. He looked up at Harry, sweating and out of breath.
"I really don't feel like talking," Rhys said with a wry laugh. "I suppose Dumbledore told you all about it. Well…I don't want your pity. Besides, it won't help. Nothing will."
Harry walked closer to the young Welshman. Now he could see the dark circles of worry under the other man's eyes. Something was going on with his fencing instructor. Something bigger than his problems with Dumbledore. "What is it?" Harry asked. "Dumbledore doesn't tell me anything."
Kicking one of the heads of the training dummies, Rhys said, "It's my sister. She's has Weeding-Krypstein's Disease." Seeing Harry's blank look, he explained his sister's affliction. Weeding-Krypstein's was an incurable form of wizarding cancer. "She's been surviving on Snape's potions since Christmas…without them she's in a great deal of pain."
"And there's no cure?" Harry asked. Then he grasped the obvious. "Ah…and Snape's been gone."
Perhaps responding to the sympathetic tone Harry used, Rhys answered quietly. "It's beyond magic. We need a miracle." His face looked haunted, as though the image of his suffering sister was in his mind.
Of course, Harry remembered the curative water that had helped Hermione. Why hadn't anyone asked him to get some for Rhys? Snape knew about it. Surely, they'd realized it would offer him some hope.
"Maybe I can help," Harry said. Surveying the mess in the practice room, he pulled his wand and began to put things to rights.
Rhys joined him. With the two of them working, it only took a few minutes. When they'd finished, Rhys thanked Harry and started to leave, but Harry said, "I'll come with you. I'd like to meet your sister."
Shaking his head, Rhys said, "You can't leave the castle, Harry. Dumbledore would fire me if he knew I'd encouraged it."
"What matters is your sister. She's the one who needs help," Harry said. He rushed to explain about the curative water. "…I don't know if it would really work, but it's perfectly safe. Snape tested it before we gave it to Hermione…at least we could try."
Conflicting emotions crossed Rhys' face, his internal struggle ending with a look of defeat. Twisting his hands, he said, "All right. Where is this place?"
Harry told him about the spring outside the cave. Of course, Rhys knew about Myrddin's Den. He had been in Dumbledore's office the morning after Harry found the sword. "If we walk down to the main gates, we can Apparate there together," Harry suggested. "Then you can go on home with the water and I'll come back here. It'll take an hour at most. No one will be the wiser."
Rhys looked like he might just change his mind, but after some more convincing, he agreed to meet Harry at the main gate in a few minutes. He had to pick up his cloak and some things from his office first. That suited Harry.
As soon as Rhys was gone, he pulled the little mirror out of his rucksack to call Ginny. He was disappointed when she didn't answer, but then, she was always studying these days, and they'd just seen each other in the D.A. meeting. He didn't give it another thought. He didn't want to be late to meet Rhys so he shrunk his rucksack and concealed it in the pocket of his robes instead of taking the time to walk all the way back to Gryffindor tower.
Harry found Rhys standing in the shadows near the gates with the winged boars. "Relax," Harry said, thinking Rhys looked a bit anxious. "I've made this trip loads of times."
Grabbing the fencing instructor by the arm, Harry Apparated the two of them to Wales. As they arrived in the darkness of the clearing near the cave, Rhys stumbled and swore. Harry put his fingers to his lips, wishing he'd taken the time to explain that the last time he'd been there, the Death Eaters had been searching the area. He'd kept that little bit of information to himself while trying to convince Rhys this was a good idea. Now he wished he'd been more forthcoming, but Rhys took the hint. He settled down, and followed silently in Harry's wake.
When he reached the fountain, full of debris, Harry worked quickly. He removed the protective spells and pulled the stopper off the potions bottle he'd brought. Once he'd filled it with the sparkling clear water, he replaced the illusion and wards to protect the spring. It was finished within a couple of minutes.
Turning around, he handed Rhys the bottle with a bright smile.
Rhys stared at him with his mouth hanging open. "I honestly…I thought you were just telling a wild story…I…." His face changed suddenly. He looked almost desperate as he hissed, "Get out of here…now!"
The anti-apparition jinx came first. Harry could feel it grip him before he could react. Then the torque around his neck protected him as stunners hit him from several different directions. The dark night was lit with the white light of the protective shield around Harry and the various streams of colored light sent in his direction from the woods around them.
Harry held them off with protective spells until something heavy and unseen hit him in the head. Splashes of red exploded in front of his eyes at the pain, but it only stunned him for a moment. Then he threw a flash of light. While his opponents were temporarily blind, Harry grabbed Rhys and moved quickly inside the main cavern of the cave.
Rhys stumbled and slowed, rubbing his eyes. "They'll be after us in a moment. We should Apparate."
"I can't…you go ahead. I'll be all right. Sh…." Harry said, pulling Rhys close to the cave wall and casting the Disillusionment Spell on both of them. "Stay quiet and hold very still. They'll think we've gone."
Harry tried to summon Aurora with the phoenix stone in his pocket, but nothing happened.
A group of black robed men walked in the door. One of them ran into the center of the room. The rest of the men fanned out back to back and made their way around the room.
For a moment Harry panicked. He realized the torches were lit, but he couldn't remember if they'd come on when he walked in the main room or if they'd already been burning. Then he noticed the archway to Niniane's room was wide open.
Harry heard a small pop near him, indicating that Rhys had Apparated to safety. He could no longer hear anyone else's breathing. Snaking his arm slowly alongside him, all he could feel was the cold cave wall.
At first the men in robes simply scattered around the room as if searching for him. Then the man in the center of the room began casting spells to end enchantments and the others followed his lead. Harry was sure one of them would hit him sooner or later, so he began to edge slowly toward the exit. There were too many of them for Harry to cast the time freezing spell. And if Harry moved too quickly, someone was bound to detect the movement.
At least Rhys had escaped. He could tell someone what had happened, and bring reinforcements. Harry had a feeling he'd need help getting out of this situation.
Then a tall figure, cloaked in black entered the cavern and looked straight at him. Harry's breath died in his throat. He'd know that white, snake-like face anywhere, it was Voldemort himself.
Pointing a long skeleton like finger directly at Harry, he shouted, "You fools. Potter's standing right there!"
To Be Continued…
A/N:Notes to reviewers. Thanks!
Lady of Masbolle: Thanks for all the goodies. Research is good. At least, that's what I keep telling myself.
Lady of the Dragons2: Hermione definitely was overreacting. Good theory about the tanglewood. If only that were Harry's only problem…Thanks for reviewing!
ImaQuidditchFan: I like those H/G moments, too. Unfortunately, circumstances are going to be standing in the way of that for a little while. Thanks for writing!
DeathZealot: Thanks for saying that. That sounds like a nice dream to me. Thanks for reviewing!
Nimbirosa: As always, those were really good guesses. I have a break coming soon, so I'll be able to catch up on reading then. Thanks for reviewing!
Lourdes: Yes! That was the calm before the storm. Thanks for writing!
Mrs. Sakura Potter: Thanks for reviewing! I'll work on it.
KandiG85: Hermione is losing her objectivity, but she'll come through when it counts. There is something else in the forest, but that's for later. Thanks for writing!
Sabine Strohem-Moss: Thanks for saying all those nice things!
James and Lily 4eva: Thanks! I will.
Moodyboy66: I hope this chapter answered your question. Thanks for reviewing!
Froggy1: Congratulation! A new baby is a wonderful distraction. I just hope your daughter and her father (did I get that right?) are both recovered from their accident. Sounds like you've taken a lot onto your shoulders. Good luck. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
MsMiss Prongs: Yes. You're 100 right. This part of the story sets up the action. Thanks for writing!
Lynn-50670: Thanks for saying that!
Spacko: Thanks for your review!
GryffRavHuffSlythendor: Thanks for reviewing!
SilverWarrior: Thanks for the reviews! We haven't seen the last of Draco in this story…
Hannah: You must be a really fast reader! Thanks for taking the time. The next few chapters should come a bit faster. I usually write to avoid doing my work, and I have a ton of work right now. Anyway, the plot is about to thicken. Thanks for reviewing!
JustYourAverageReviewer: Harry and Ginny make good sense to me. Thanks for all your kind comments. I appreciate it!
Hary9970: You'll find out in the next chapter whether or not Snape was helping Draco. At least you know that Dumbledore doesn't think he is. Thanks for the review!
Saphire Phoenix: Thanks for all your lovely reviews. It was fun to read your reaction to the earlier chapters as you progressed through the story. Thanks for taking the time to read and review!
mysticruby: I love your stories, too. Thanks for reviewing!
SuzanneN: Thanks for saying that! Thanks for writing a review!
gothgirl: Yes, she's going to be with Harry. I feel the same way about Dean. Thanks for your review!
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