The Raven II
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JKR, various publishers of the HP series. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: I posted the last chapter then went away for the weekend. I had a few regrets I couldn't stop thinking about. So, I made a couple of minor changes for clarity, which doesn't affect the story, just the way it's told. (1) I clarified Harry & Hedwig's arrival at the loch. No, the geese weren't in the trees (thanks tall oaks) and (2) When SS kissed Munin, he now says "good boy," ooo, a compliment! I didn't mean for Draco's beating to sound so bad. Harry's "bloody pulp" comment was his perception.
Chapter 6 (uploaded 8/5/04)Shortly after the Death Eaters had been in Hogsmeade and on Hogwarts grounds, they were summoned by their dark master. "Wormtail, give me your arm," Voldemort hissed. Peter Pettigrew scuttled his way over to his master, turned his head away and stuck out his left arm so that Lord Voldemort could touch the mark with his wand. "Answer the door."
"Yes, my lord," Wormtail scuttled out of the room without looking up into the beady red eyes.
"Took you long enough," Avery shoved past when the door opened. "And what the hell is that yellow streak down your back, anyway."
"S-S-Sorry, sorry," Peter cowered, "he's waiting for you in the basement. Mustn't keep him waiting."
"Honestly, Wormtail, shave your head or something. Your hair is atrocious," Lucius wrinkled his nose.
Upon entering the room, the new arrivals bowed in subservience until they were recognized. "What information did he have for me?"
"Snape got nothing from Potter's Head of House or the Headmaster, Sir," Bellatrix reported from under her wide-brimmed hat.
"Severus would not dare fail me. Why didn't you bring him to me, then?" hissed the parseltongue.
"It wasn't necessary, my lord," Lucius answered. "Severus charmed a note and sent it to the boy. He was holding out so that he could follow the trace himself but we took the tracer scrap from him while he was still under the Veritaserum."
"I tried that trick," Voldemort's high pitched voice resounded off the stone walls, "The owl post came back undeliverable. Dumbledore placed an untraceable charm on Potter. Bella, take that stupid hat off, I want to see your eyes."
She pulled it off quickly and threw it toward the door. "As you wish."
Lucius looked up and said, "Well Severus managed a successful delivery to send the boy a reading assignment. We were following the trace when you summoned us. It started in the Headmaster's office. I had a look in the window, the track there was nearly a day old."
Voldemort nodded, "Bella, take Rudolphus, Rabastan, and Avery. Follow the trace as far as you can. It still might be a trick, so Lucius, I want you to take a couple people to Potter's family house. Whether he's there or not, Dumbledore is obligated to inform his guardians of the boy's whereabouts. Find out what they know."
"Yes, my lord," Lucius bowed, "where is the house, exactly?"
"Find out!" Voldemort hissed.
Having been quietly observing from the back of the room, Pettigrew squeaked, "My Lord, Severus and I have been there before."
"Good, take them both with you," the Dark Lord ordered Malfoy.
----- ooOoo -----
"Professor, why don't you take a break. Draco has taken a sleeping potion, he's going to be out a while longer." Madame Pomfrey said, "I'm sure your little bird is hungry." Harry looked up into the tired eyes of the potion master. Truthfully, Harry had been too busy to think about food.
"You are correct. Call me when Draco wakes. I need to have a word with him before he talks to anyone," Snape said somberly as he helped Munin into his pocket.
When Harry came back out into the light, they were back in Snape's chambers. He was placed on a comfortable towel nest on the work table while Snape mixed aviary formula. "I know you're not hungry either," Snape spoke softly to his familiar, "but Draco's fine. Lucius and I had our share of similar treatment from our own fathers. I'm sure he knew enough not to cry out, that's why it wasn't too harsh. Narcissa, that's Draco's mum, has done an amazing job at protecting her son from the worst of Lucius's wrath for more than 16 years."
"Not harsh?" Harry croaked, "It's so wrong."
Snape threw his head and hands up in the air, "Listen to me, I'm telling things to a bird that I wouldn't tell anyone else."
"I won't tell," Harry shook out his feathers.
"Open up now," Snape filled the dropper and squeezed it into the raven's throat. "One more ought to do it."
"Water," Harry coughed.
"Sorry, here you are," Snape held a different eye dropper with water. "It's sticky like peanut butter, isn't it? Hmm, I haven't had peanut butter in a long time. I was introduced to it when I was a student. Contrary to popular belief, I do have friends. I just don't want anyone to know who I care about so that nobody can get to me through them."
Harry opened his mouth for more formula and thought to himself. 'That makes sense but it's a sad way to live. I get lonely at the Dursleys during summer holidays. All I have to look forward to is seeing my friends again. It's what keeps me going when my so-called-family gives me their worst.'
Sparks dropped in his fireplace as someone attempted a fire call. "That might be Poppy. Incindio!"
CRACK! "Severus," Lucius's head said through the flames, "we have a job to do. Come to my house immediately." Harry buried himself under the towel he had been sitting on.
"Now? I was going to wash my hair tonight." Snape mocked. Harry cackled under the towel, 'Since when has he had a sense of humor?'
"That's very funny," Lucius snorted. "Can you step through?"
"No, the wards won't allow it. I'll have to walk outside the wards and apparate from there."
"Quick as you can then. Bring your mask." With another crack, the face was gone.
Snape took a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. Sticking his head into the fireplace, he called, "Albus Dumbledore."
"Severus, what can I do for you?"
"I have been summoned. Please get Professor Sinistra to watch Slytherin house for me."
"Do be careful, Severus."
"Always, Headmaster."
----- ooOoo -----
As soon as Snape's head left, there was another crack in Dumbledore's fireplace, signaling another fire call. "Albus, I'm glad I found you." Moody said with urgency.
"Hello Alastor! I do hope you have good news."
The retired auror said, "I do not. The Lestranges have been spotted by Muggles and wizards in the Scottish countryside. We have Aurors and Memory Modifiers following them. But they're following a strange pattern. It doesn't look like they're running, I think they're following something."
"Yes, they're looking for Harry Potter." Dumbledore nodded.
"Have you heard from the boy? I can go check on him, I don't mind." Moody's glass eye spun around in his head.
"Thank you, Alastor. Mr. Potter is quite safe where he is," Dumbledore replied.
"What about the Lestranges? Shall we confront them?" Moody asked.
"I assume you're talking about Bellatrix, Rudolphus, and Rabastan?" asked the head of the Order of the Phoenix.
"And Avery," Said the retired auror.
"No, for everyone's safety, let them follow the wild geese migratory patterns and leave the confrontation to Voldemort. As long as they aren't bothering the Muggles, stay on their trail a step or two behind and clean up after them."
Moody had a gravelly laugh, "Do you mean to say they're on a wild goose chase?"
"Exactly, my friend. Let's just leave them to it. Notify your auror friends in the Ministry and the rest of the order," Dumbledore said sadly. "We must be on alert tonight, Voldemort will be active tonight but we don't know where."
"I'll pass the word." Moody left with a sharp crack.
----- ooOoo -----
Leaving Harry sitting on the worktable to digest his food, Snape walked into another room and came back with a cloak bundled under his arm. Harry flew to his shoulder as soon as he came into view. "Take me," the raven squawked.
"No, Munin, stay here." Snape opened the bird door and said, "You can stay in the owlry or visit Fawkes. Go." Harry huffed as he exited, 'We'll just see about that.'
Harry flew out and took a perch on a tower roof. He watched as Snape ran into the Forbidden Forest. He followed silently and managed to grab onto the black robe just before he apparated. "Whoa!" Harry croaked when he fell to the ground at their destination.
"Stupid bird, I told you to stay at Hogwarts," Snape spat. Snape put on his cloak, picked Harry up and stuffed him into his pocket just before the door flew open.
"Took you long enough," Lucius snarled. Peter hid behind Lucius but he was easy enough to see with all the bright colors in his hair. 'Haha, what happened to Wormtail?' Snape pushed Munin's head back into the pocket.
"What's he doing here?" Snape made a sour face, to hide the smile and laughter that wanted to bust out of his heart.
"Disgusting isn't it?" Lucius said coolly. "Master made me bring him because he's been to Potter's house. That's why you're here, as well."
"We're going to Potter's house? Surely Dumbledore wouldn't be daft enough to put him under everybody's noses." Snape's eyebrows arched at the thought.
"The boy is safe at his family's house. It's the next logical place to hide him. If he's there we are to lure him out. If not, Hogwarts is required to inform parents and guardians if students are taken out of school. They should have been notified, so we'll question them."
"Speaking of notifying parents, Draco hasn't awaken yet."
"He took it well, you know. Without so much as a whimper and stood the whole time until that giant oaf came around. We had to cut our 'discussion' short. Hurry up and put on your hood and mask."
The three masked and hooded Death Eaters apparated directly into Number 4 Privet Drive. Snape, to the upstairs hallway, Lucius popped into the living room, and Pettigrew was in the kitchen. The three Dursleys screamed at the same time. Snape grabbed Petunia by the arm and lead her downstairs. He threw her onto the couch, next to where Malfoy had Vernon frozen in fear.
Dudley thought he could handle the short statured rat animagus and surprised him with a right uppercut to the chin, knocking him out. Dudley pulled the mask off and started laughing. He dragged the unconscious home invader into the living room, "Dad, this FREAK has hair like the rat I had...AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!" He fell over, stiff as a board when Snape hit him with 'Petrificus Totalus.'
"Dudley!!" Petunia tried to run to her son, but Malfoy pushed her back onto the couch.
"See here!" Vernon's face reddened, "What do you freaks want?"
Lucius bent over, his nose not an inch from Vernon's, "Where is Harry Potter?"
"How should we know? He doesn't live here." Vernon broke eye contact and looked worriedly at his son on the floor.
"See for yourself," Petunia nodded and pointed to the many pictures on the mantle, on the walls, and on the end tables. "We don't know where this Harry Potter is."
"You are his guardians," Snape drawled, "you would be notified if he was taken out of school."
"We got no such notification. No phone call, no post." Petunia scooted toward her husband. "Look around for yourself. It's just the three of us."
Lucius looked at every photo, he even poked a few with his wand to make the people in the picture move. He had a look of disgust when he looked at Dudley's baby picture, the one with a blue baby bonnet, and compared it to the mound of flesh on the floor. In his anger, he threw every picture and knick-knack to the floor and blew out the front windows of the house.
Snape looked upstairs and noisily vandalized every room by dumping out the drawers and blasting the mattresses and windows. He turned the closets inside-out. He vanished the shooting gallery and left over paint pellets, and the mattress that Harry slept on. Harry stuck his head out of the pocket and cringed, 'Why are you doing this? Hey, don't forget the cupboard under the stairs.' Snape pulled out the little raven and whispered, "Go to Arabella Figg's. Get help."
Harry flew as fast as he could to the next street over. He looked into the windows and saw three people having tea in the dining room. Since none of the windows were open, he squawked and rapped on the panes to get someone's attention. He certainly got the cats attention. MREOW! One of them leapt at the window. Harry flew up, hoping the window would break, but it only smashed its face on the glass, 'Stupid cat, now you look like Crookshanks!' "REMUS!" Harry squawked, "is that you? Can you hear me?"
Remus Lupin ran toward the window and opened it. Harry landed on his hand. "It's me, Harry!"
"Harry?" Lupin looked very tired and ragged. The previous night had been a full moon. Usually he wouldn't be out of his house for two days after a transformation, but everyone in the Order had been put on alert.
"Oh good, you can understand me. Can't explain. Death Eaters at the Dursleys!" Harry flew back out the window. As he left, he could hear Remus yelling, "Arabella, call Dumbledore at once. Death Eaters have attacked Harry's guardians. Dung, let's go!"
When the greasy-haired Death Eater came downstairs, he blasted his way through the kitchen and, finally, the cupboard under the stairs. Shooting water out of his wand, he kicked Wormtail in the ribs, "Get up, we're done here."
"I ask you one more time, where is Harry Potter?" Lucius snarled under his mask at the Muggles, then turned around and kicked in the television. "WHERE IS HE?"
"WE DON'T KNOW!!" Vernon and Petunia held each other. "ASK THE RED-HEADED FAMILY."
Hearing the cracks of apparation, Wormtail yelled. "Aurors! Let's go!" A black mass of feathers flew through the open window and attached himself to the back of the tallest Death Eater right before they disapparated.
To be continued...
----- ooOoo -----
A/N: Yay, I see some new names in addition to those of you who have been reviewing every chapter. Thank you wonderful people: ataraxis, Mikee, Svetlana Lvova, Zachiliam, Anna Taure, tall oaks, Wren Truesong, starangel2106, Silverthreads, Persephone Lupin, Werinaya, Heart of the Wizard, KC, Kaaera, Romm, LadyNiteRaven.
Zachiliam: No, Yes, and Thank you.
Persephone Lupin: I used to be a tennis fan. I wanted to name the goose after the Swede star, Bjorn, but before I posted I couldn't remember his name if my life depended on it. So I ended up naming him after the German star, Boris. The geese had to be from Iceland, though because in my very brief research, Greylag geese was the first type that I found which would spend their winters in various spots from SW Scotland to Wales and they're from Iceland. There's a strong Nordic and Russian influence in Iceland, isn't there? Ok, I'm just reaching now.