To Walk Through Fire
Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Harry Potter and the characters associated with him. They belong to J.K. Rowling. I am not making money off of this story. So please don't sue.
Chapter VIII: Of Good Friends and Plans
Despite the Ministry's attempt to hide the news of Azkaban away from the public, the truth did not wish to be hidden, and was immediately revealed to the wizarding community . . .
Azkaban Attacked?!
By Bowen Brebner
Last night the prison of Azkaban, one of the most highly protected buildings in the wizarding world was attacked. According to the Ministry, renegade Death Eaters stormed the walls of the prison late last night. The prison guards, without the help of the Dementors futilely tried to defend the prison. Only one prison guard has been reported to have lived. Currently it is rumored that he lies in St. Mugos for his injuries, which although serious, they are not life threatening.
Twenty-five year old Watson Windset, barely able to escape with his life, ran directly to the Ministry and warned them of the attack.
"We are certain the renegades will be dealt with in no time," Minister Fudge explained early this morning, "The Aurors have been put on alert and the rebels will be put down immediately."
Aurors were sent to Azkaban early this morning to stop the renegades. No word has been heard as to whether they have succeeded in their mission. It is believed strongly, however, among the Ministry that the Aurors will have captured the Death Eaters by sunset tonight.
The reason for this attack is unknown, Mr. Windset was unable to inform the Ministry of the Death Eaters intentions. It is rumored that Sirius Black led the attack to save his godson, Harry Potter, a Death Eater, from his lifetime sentence in prison. Minister Fudge has not confirmed this information, however.
Minister Fudge tells us all not to worry, that everything is under control. The Death Eaters do not know the secrets of Azkaban like the Aurors do and Azkaban will be safe once again. We can only hope that this is true.
So the news of Azkaban's capture spread like wildfire throughout the wizarding communities. Many believed the truth of the Ministry's assurances, but some, who had read between the lines started to doubt the Ministry's capability.
The news was on every magical tongue. It was talked about as much as the Potters' death and You-Know-Who's defeat. But it was not talked about in happiness, as the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's downfall had been, but in fearful whispers. Everyone was watchful, putting extra protection spells around their houses, to protect their families from Sirius Black and his apprentice Harry Potter. Very few believed that Harry Potter was not dangerous, and fewer still believed in Black's innocence.
And for the few who knew the truth, they knew true fear for the first time in fourteen years . . .
***************
Malfoy watched dispassionately as the last of the survivors died, unable to stand the torment any longer. The man had lasted for no more than ten minutes under the Cruciatus curse.
Weak.
That is what he was. Even Draco could stand the curse for a longer period of time than this man. A man who was supposed to keep the prison safe. No wonder it had fallen in only an hour, with weaklings like this man. This man was the last of the guards, other than the one they had let escape with a message for the Ministry. Though Lucius would have preferred sending the bodies of the dead to the Ministry first, instead of that coward. However, the Dark Lord was once again right, it would frighten the population more if bodies from Azkaban started to appear after they knew that the prison had been attacked, it would send the population into chaos.
None of the Death Eaters were concerned about the constant attacks, protective wards had been quickly built around the prison after they had defeated the guards. The Aurors who had been continually attacking the prison were falling like flies in the traps that had been laid around the prison. Most of them would turn up in a desert with no memories several weeks from now, the others would be rewards to the Death Eaters for their loyal services. Malfoy grinned sadistically, he hoped that the Dark Lord would see fit to reward him for his participation in the raid. An Auror would help him teach Draco the skills of a true Death Eater very nicely.
After the protective wards had been placed, all the prisoners who had been former followers of the Dark Lord, and were still sane, had been dragged out of the prison to stand beside their one-time comrades.
Then the spell had been performed. That had been Malfoy's favorite part of the evening. Watching as the loyalty of the Death Eaters was judged. He, of course, had passed with flying colors. But several amongst their rank had been revealed to be traitors. The Dark Lord had thoroughly embarrassed those few, tormenting them with curses that few had ever heard of, taunting them with words. They were still alive so they could watch as everything they had ever held important was shattered and destroyed. Surprisingly Wormtail had also passed with flying colors. The traitor had chosen his side. But Lucius knew better, traitors were never to be trusted. Anyone who could betray their best friends for a promised power, would betray anyone for anything.
There were a few however, who had not been tested, including the famous Potions Master, Severus Snape, who had been known to be spies. The Dark Lord had wanted to keep those traitors within his group, so he could watch and use them as messengers. Although Malfoy knew that the Dark Lord wanted to keep Snape's services, the man was one of the best potion masters in the wizarding world. Even he, who hated Snape almost as much as Black did, had to admit that.
It would have been highly enjoyable watching the Potions Master be tormented though . . .
Especially after the discovery that Potter was gone. The only sign of that brat was several small bowls in a high security cell deep in the fortress' bowels. It would have been an understatement to say that the Dark Lord had been disappointed. He had been furious. Lucius had never seem him display that much emotion. It was almost as if the man had lost something of the utmost importance. Not to say that Potter wasn't important. But the boy was not that important, especially if he was insane, he could do nothing to stop the Dark Lord. Lucius wondered if there was something that the Dark Lord was not telling him, something sinister about Harry Potter that no one knew. Something important But what could it be?
"Master! Master!" Crabbe came running in, breaking through Lucius' thoughts. "Look what I found." The man said hardly bowing at the Dark Lord's feet. Lucius could tell from the scowl on his master's face that the man was very displeased at the lack of respect. Before he could further analyze his master's mood, and imagine Crabbe's possible torment, he saw the dark bundle held tightly in the man's arms. "Master, I found Harry Potter." He placed the bundle on the floor before the Dark Lord.
Lord Voldemort bent down near the bundle and whispered two words softly. Nothing happened. The boy was dead. Gone forever from the torments of the world. There was no one to save the wizarding world now, their hero was gone, killed by their own foolishness. Lucius grinned sadistically, it was a pity he would not be able to see Albus' face when the news reached the old headmaster, that man had been too fond of the child.
His grin disappeared when he realized that his master was not happy. But why? Lucius did not know. And it frightened him.
"Out! Everyone! Leave now!" Voldemort hissed softly at his followers. Lucius turned to leave with the rest of the Death Eaters who were quickly filing out the door. "Malfoy, you stay." He hissed again. Lucius turned and faced his master, not moving, even when he heard the door shut behind him. He did not say a word, waiting for his master to say something first. He knew his proper place, unlike many of his comrades.
"Look at him Malfoy." The Dark Lord hissed softly. "Tell me what do you see."
Lucius did exactly as he was commanded. He looked closer at the boy. He looked thinner than he had when Lucius had seen him at the end of Draco's second year, but he had grown too. The boy's skin was slightly tanned, probably from working outside. His body was filthy, covered in the dark mud that surrounded Azkaban.
"I see," he began, "the same boy I did two years ago, except a little older."
"Do you see any traces of a glamorie spell?" The Dark Lord looked hard at Lucius.
Lucius looked at the boy again. "No, master, I am afraid I do not." Why? Why did his master think there was a glamorie spell around the boy? Lucius did not dare ask that question outright, it would only earn him his own torment.
The Dark Lord nodded in acceptance. "Neither do I Lucius. It is not a trick then, the boy is truly Potter's." Lord Voldemort seemed to have gorgotten that Lucius was there, as he mumbled to himself.
"Master?" Lucius asked unable to keep his mouth shut. What did his master mean by saying that the boy was truly Potter's? Of course Harry Potter was James Potter's son. Why would his master thing any differently?
"One of my spies had a suspicion that Harry Potter was not Potter's son. He found evidence later proving that Harry was James' son, however something did not add up. If the boy had been under a glamorie spell, it would have ended with his death, or at least weakened enough for one of us to see it." Lucius stared at his master as he spoke. The Dark Lord had never talked to him like this. Never taken the time to explain some small irrelevant piece of information to Malfoy. Not that this was small, quite the opposite. What was going on? And what did Harry's parentage have to do with anything? "This does help explain his resilience to my curse, that and his mother's love. Did you know that James Potter was Gryffindor's heir?"
"No master." Lucius said carefully, he had always strongly suspected the fact. Potter had been the perfect Gryffindor, daring and courageous. And it explained how his son was able to escape from the Dark Lord so many times.
Lord Voldemort looked down one more time at the body in distain. The look in his face when he looked up frightened Lucius. It was the look of someone who was searching for something, and was determined to find what he was looking for no matter what it took.
"What do you say Lucius, that we send Albus a special little something?" His master grinned wickedly. Lucius returned the man's grin with his own.
***************
They stared at one another in shock. NO! This just could not be happening. This could not be happening at all. How could this be happening?!
But it was. There was nothing they could do to stop it.
Hermione read through the article once again. It just could not be possible. But the article remained the same. The Death Eaters and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had taken over Azkaban, with Harry inside. Hermione felt a jolt of pure terror hit her, not for her own safety, but for the safety of her friend. Harry. He was all alone with the Death Eaters. Without his wand! Or a way off Azkaban!
What would they do to him? They couldn't kill him, they just could not kill him. She refused to believe that Harry was dead at the moment. There was no way her friend could be dead. He had lived through so much already.
She felt a tear run down her face, and wiped it angrily away. Now was not the time to become emotional. She would not believe that her friend was dead until she had proof of his death. Until Dumbledore personally told her that he was dead.
For now the only thing she knew to do was start looking through her books. What good would that do now? They could not challenge the law, like they had initially planned to do, or break into Azkaban, undoubtedly He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had changed the wards on the fortress. There was nothing to research. The only way to save Harry now was to go to Azkaban and break him out physically.
They couldn't do that.
She was sure the red headed boy sitting silently beside her wanted to run to Azkaban as much as she did. It would not work. They would be dead within a minute of setting foot on the island. Even with their somewhat reckless Gryffindor courage they be hard pressed to land on the island alive, much less leave it with Harry.
"Hermione." Ron whispered beside her. "Tell me that this is not real, that this is just a dream."
Once Hermione would have pinched the boy beside her to show him that it was not a dream, but now she had no enthusiasm for foolish games like that, for jokes and laughter. She wanted this to be a dream too. Tomorrow she wanted to wake up to find that it had all been a hoax on the wizarding world to fool He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers. That Dumbledore had set it up so that Harry would no longer be hunted.
She knew that her wish was not true.
"We're not dreaming Ron." She answered him solemnly, she had to hold together for her other best friend. She could not let Ron go running to Azkaban. It would tear her apart to lose Ron too.
NO!
Harry was not dead.
She had to believe that.
"What are we going to do Hermione? How can we help him?" Ron asked desperately his voice hoarse.
"I don't know Ron, I just don't know." Hermione wished she could have offered more comfort to her friend who looked devastated. The truth was that she was not any better condition than Ron was.
What could they do? They were only teenagers. The two of them hardly knew enough defensive and offensive spells to effectively deflect most of the curses that the Death Eaters would throw at them, even with her extensive knowledge.
She looked up at her friend.
Both anger and despair raged in his eyes.
"You don't know?" His voice grew louder and more ragged. "How can you not know? Hermione this is Harry we are talking about here. We can't just let our best friend be destroyed by the Death Eaters. We have to go save him!"
"We can't Ron!" Hermione's voice started to rise too. "We would just get ourselves killed! We don't have the experience or skill to enter, let alone leave Azkaban!"
"If it was you in that prison, I bet Harry would run over there without a second thought to save you!" Ron yelled at her.
How could Ron accuse her of not trying to help Harry? How . . .
Hermione Granger smothered her anger quickly. A skill she had learned when dealing with several kids at her old muggle school. Now was not the time to lose her head. It would do Harry no good to lose their heads now.
"Ron!" She said quietly. "We are not helping Harry by screaming at each other. What we need to do is think of some way to help him out of there without getting caught ourselves. This is not second year, and it is not against the Dursleys, this is against You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters. We can't fight them, we don't have the skills or the knowledge to."
Ron, whose mouth had been opened to yell something else, clamped his mouth shut immediately.
"For now, I would suggest that we owl Professor Dumbledore and ask him how we can help." Yes that was a good idea. The headmaster of Hogwarts always knew what to do. He could tell them how they could help. Or at least let them know the truth of the situation.
Ron looked at her for a second and nodded his assent. He quickly raced up the stairs, his feet thumping loudly on the stairs.
None of the other Weasleys were currently in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley had left them alone after giving them the article, thinking that they needed some time alone to deal with the news. Now the house was even quieter than it had been before. Hermione had seen none of the Weasley children this morning, other than Ron. Ginny had already been out of bed by the time she woke up this morning. If she had not known better, she would have thought that all the other Weasleys had left the house, abandoning her and Ron to suffer their friend's demise together . . .
The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs announced Ron's return. He collapsed in the chair beside her, throwing the parchment down on the newspaper, which lay spread out before them. He shoved the quill in her hand murmuring something about her writing neater than he did.
Dipping the quill in the inkbottle that had been placed carelessly next to the parchment, Hermione began to compose the letter in her head. Quickly she scratched down the words.
She read it quickly over before handing the note over to Ron for his approval. Before she could say anything he grabbed the quill out of her hand. The red-head quickly scribbled something on the parchment. He looked at the note and seemed to nod in approval. Hermione took the note from his hand and read the letter with Ron's small message at the end of the note.
Professor Dumbledore,
We heard about Harry's imprisonment several days ago, and just today we heard about the attack on Azkaban. Is there anything we can do to help Harry? We are willing to do anything to help him, anything at all. Please let us help our friend. If we cannot help you we will find another way to free our friend!
Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley
"Ron," Hermione began softly, "I don't think it's a good idea to threaten Professor Dumbledore like that." She reached out to grab the quill out of his hand to cross off the last sentence.
"Of course it will help Hermione, this way he will see that there is no way to stop us from helping Harry, that if he doesn't have any ideas on how to free Harry, then we will find our own way." Ron's lips curved slightly in a half smile, as he held the quill away from her reach.
"I think he already knows that Ron," Hermione muttered under her breath exasperated. She made one last futile dive for the quill, which ended with her half sprawled across the table, before she gave up. Hermione just shook her head in defeat. Ron would never surrender the quill, not while he was in the state of worry he was in. She knew that Professor Dumbledore would understand the message, even with Ron's threat.
"Fine Ron, I'll leave it, but if we get in trouble for threatening the headmaster, I will tell them that it was your idea and I had no part in it." With that Hermione picked up the letter and walked over to the window where Hedwig sat patiently preening her feathers. "Hedwig, girl, would you mind taking a letter to Professor Dumbledore for us?" She asked softly, uncertain if the owl knew what she was saying. The owl seemed to nod slightly in reply and stood still as the bushy-haired girl tied the small piece of parchment around her leg. As soon as Hermione had completed the knot, the owl took off gracefully into the sky, quickly disappearing among the clouds.
Hermione turned towards her friend who was sitting motionlessly staring at the newspaper.
"What are we going to do now Hermione? I can't wait around for that old man to give us instructions. Harry can't survive much longer, if he even is alive now. Who knows what You-Know-Who is doing to him!?" Ron did not turn around as he spoke.
Hermione slipped in the seat beside her redheaded friend, gliding her arm around his shoulders to comfort him. "I know Ron, I know. But we must not give up, Harry is still alive. I refuse to believe that he is dead." she told him softly looking down at the article. How could they help Harry? They had no leverage to convince He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to let Harry go, nor could they run into Azkaban and defeat all those Death Eaters. How? Harry was trapped with his worst enemy, with no one to save him, and not even his wand to protect himself.
Ron opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something when two identical, red-haired boys entered the kitchen.
Hermione nearly gasped when she saw them. The mischievous looks that always decorated their faces, and their stances, since she first met them, had all but disappeared. Only a small glimmer of their former mischievous selves remained. Never had she believed that the twins could fall this far. Harry's imprisonment had hit them harder than she had ever dreamed it would. It had hit the Weasley family more than she could ever guess. They had adopted Harry as their own, and now he was in danger. And they did not know how to help him.
Ron's mouth clicked shut audibly, when he saw the twins. He only glared at them in anger as if they had disrupted some important thought.
"We have," one of the twins began. Hermione was sure it was Fred.
"Found a way to help Harry out of Azkaban." The other twin finished without the usual flare that would accompany an idea.
"How?!" Ron jumped up towards his brothers, Hermione grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back into his seat before he could hurt himself.
"Calm down Ron," One of the twins muttered softly, as the other beckoned them up the stairs, away from the kitchen. Hermione was the first to follow Fred up the stairs, with Ron quickly tailing behind her, and George bringing up the rear, the newspaper in hand.
The tall boy led them straight into Ron's room, which was still a disaster. No one spoke as they found seats amongst the rubble – well it did look as if a tornado had torn through the room. Hermione managed to move enough junk from Ron's trunk so that she could sit down beside him. The twins managed to find a seat on the bed.
"Alright, we'll have to talk softly so dad can't hears us, if he does, then we will all be locked in our rooms for life." The twin, who Hermione was certain was George, whispered softly, only loud enough so that the rest of them could hear. "Mum took Ginny out with her this morning, but she could be back any minute, we don't want her to know what we are saying in this room. So we will have to be quick. Anything said here will not leave. Is that understood?" Hermione nodded, it was strange seeing the twins so serious. "Ron?" The boy beside her gave a short nod in acknowledgement.
"What is this all about?" Hermione asked being careful not to raise her voice too loudly. "You said you found a way to save Harry? How?"
"Yes we did. We found a way to blackmail the Death Eaters."
"George, I think it's better if we tell the tale, than leave them with just the facts."
The other twin nodded. "Last year during the third event of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, George and I overheard someone talking. Now we would not have moved closer to hear the men's words had it not been for the fact that one of them sounded an awful lot like Professor Moody. We thought we could use what he said as a joke against him after the results from the exams came in. So we moved in closer towards the voices. We could make out two men standing in the shadows. By his voice there was no doubt in our minds that it was Moody standing there. We do not know who the other man was, he did not sound familiar in any way." What had they overheard? Had Crouch been telling the mysterious man the plans that he suspected He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was going to use? Hermione shifted impatiently on top of the chest.
"We think that Professor Moody had the upper hand during that conversation." George added softly.
"What were they saying?" Ron demanded impatiently.
"Professor Moody was saying something about their master and how he was going to be angry when he heard about the disloyalty. He then started to list names off. The names of people whom he called traitors, and one Peter Pettigrew was at the top of the list, with several names of people from the ministry including Rona Foley, you know the lady who is always hanging around Fudge's office? Then he said how their master would punish all the Death Eaters who were disloyal. By then we were enthralled in what they were saying, we thought it was some sort of sick joke because You-Know-Who can't come back. But now . . . we believe that he was telling the truth to the man, and Sirius Black has become their master now." Fred finished the story, with Hermione and Ron both staring at him as if he had grown a second head.
"Sirius?!" Ron muttered incredulously. "You honesty think Sirius Black is a Death Eater?"
"Ron!" Hermione whispered to him, kicking him in the shin to keep him quiet. If done right, they could use this information to convince the Death Eaters to free Harry.
"What about Sirius Black being You-Know-Who's successor? He is you know." George glared at his brother.
"No he isn't!" Ron glared right back again stubbornly. "You-Know-Who is back. Harry even saw him come back. Even Professor Dumbledore admits that You-Know-Who is back. He said it at the end of the year last year. Don't you believe either of them?"
"What about Sirius Black then? You actually think he would sit aside and let those who imprisoned him live? He is a murderer, and a Death Eater. We know that Professor Dumbledore said that You-Know-Who is back, but what if Harry mistook Black for what he thought You-Know-Who looked like? He was sort of out of it after the tournament." Fred added in defense.
"Because Sirius loves Harry, he even lived in a cave and ate rats to help his godson." Ron shouted, his face going beat red.
The twins were stunned into silence. The whole room fell quiet, and even the ghost who haunted the attic seemed to feel the need for silence.
"What did you just say?" Fred asked softly unable to stand the silence any longer.
Before Ron could start arguing with his brothers again, Hermione spoke. "Sirius Black escaped from prison to save Harry from Peter Pettigrew, who he saw in that newspaper clipping about your family winning the Daily Prophet prize. Everyone thought he was after Harry, but he was really after Peter Pettigrew who was Ron's rat Scabbers."
Now it was their turn to stare at her as if she had grown an extra head. She looked over at Ron who was glaring at his brothers, daring them to contradict her words.
"We never heard that. How come we were never told?" Fred asked. "You're just making it up aren't you, as some sort of sick joke, while your friend is in Azkaban with Black tormenting him."
"NO! Sirius would never hurt Harry! You-Know-Who is back, and if you're not willing to believe it, the both of you should leave. NOW!" Ron shouted at the two twins.
"Ron!" Hermione hissed. "Your father is still here, if he finds out . . ."
Ron, whose mouth had been hanging open, prepared to challenge his brothers again, quickly shut it, his eyes were still wild with anger.
"So even you believe the story Hermione." One of the twins whispered.
"Yes, I was there." She stared at them. They were going no where arguing about Sirius like this. Right now they needed to find a way to free Harry. "Now," she added before anyone else could speak. "If we are to free Harry, we need to stop arguing amongst ourselves and start to create a plan."
All three Weasley boys nodded.
"Good. So here is what I am thinking we should do . . ."
***************
He was cold. Very cold. So cold that he could not feel his feet, they had already gone numb.
But that wasn't the worst of it all.
He could feel jagged, sharp rocks digging into his side, chest and stomach. They dug relentlessly into his skin, and not even the chill that permeated his body numbed him enough to freeze the pain.
And the worst of it was the agony in his head.
It hurt.
Immensely.
He did not dare open his eyes. Not yet. No, it was not worth the effort, nor the pain.
What had happened? Why was he lying here?
Everything before the blackness came was a little fuzzy. He remembered sending Alexander Brown off to save Harry, with the charms and the potions that he had made. Then he had started to leave towards shore when . . . They had come! The Death Eaters had come onto the island earlier than expected. He hoped that Brown had managed to smuggle Harry away from this place before the Death Eaters had taken over. They had to have left. Harry would not have let Brown die, he would have dragged the Auror to somewhere safe. The grove . . .He was supposed to meet them at the grove . . .Severus froze. What if . . . No he could not think about that now, Albus had to have found the note. It was out in the open, in the most obvious place. But what if Albus had found the note too late, and Alexander had taken Harry away somewhere? What if Alexander had been forced to fight off the Death Eaters while Harry had taken the portkey out of Azkaban and Albus had not been there for him? Severus forced his thoughts away. Now was not the time for 'what if' questions.
Instead of focusing on his thoughts, he started to focus on his surroundings. He needed to leave Azkaban and quickly. There was no doubt in his mind that the Death Eaters had taken over Azkaban. The guards were too relaxed and too few to fight off such a large number of witches and wizards. If Voldemort found him here, he would be dead before he could even create an excuse.
He could hear waves gently lapping against the rocks. That was the only sound in the air. There were no screams coming from the fortress. He must have been out for hours. Or Voldemort and his cronies would still be tormenting their prisoners.
Slowly Severus opened his eyes.
And quickly closed them again as fiery pain shot through his entire head.
The sun was too bright.
Wait!
The sun! The sun was out already? How was that possible? How had he been unconscious for so long? How long had he been unconscious?
Slowly he dragged his arm back towards his head, so that he could shield his eyes from the sun. He opened his eyes.
And saw rocks. Lots of gray rocks of all different sizes.
Severus slowly moved around so that he was half-sitting. The sharp rocks jabbed into his legs, but at the moment he did not really notice them, they were an annoyance now, nothing more. He could see no one around. He was sure that a Death Eater was on watch up at the fortress, but they would not notice him sitting there amongst the rocks.
Despite his numbed limbs, Severus stood up and stumbled towards the water. He reached into his pocket where another portkey lay. The only way he would be able to leave Azkaban, without taking the ferry across was with the portkey. It was identical to the one he had given Brown. The only difference between the portkeys was that this one would take him directly to Hogwarts grounds.
Reluctantly he started to walk into the water. It was freezing. He hissed softly as the coldness touched his already chilled body. Madame Pomphrey would have a fit if she knew what he was doing. At least he had the forethought before leaving to create a heating potion. Then he would not have to go to the hospital wing again.
It seemed like hours before the portkey finally kicked in. Severus could hardly feel the familiar feeling of the portkey as it dragged him towards Hogwarts. Where he collapsed on the ground.
He picked himself up and stumbled towards the tall gray building on numbed legs. Every step seemed to wring more energy from his body. Energy he could not afford to lose.
The castle had never seemed so far away. It seemed miles away from where he stood. And it did not help that the castle seemed to tilt, as he moved drunkenly towards it. The wet black robes clung to him dragging him down with their weight. He briefly considered taking off the cloak, but quickly rejected the idea; it would take more energy than he could summon.
He looked up again towards the castle. His neck could hardly carry the weight of his head, which by now was pounding. Suddenly his foot caught on something solid. He inwardly groaned as the ground came up to meet him once again.
But his world did not go black, only a swirling darkness lay at the edge of his vision.
Severus turned around slowly to see what it was he had tripped over.
There on the ground, lay none other than the body of Harry Potter. Please let him be alive. Severus moved closer towards the boy to see if Harry had survived. Just as he was about to reach the boy's wrist, he felt the swirling darkness take over his world.
And all went black, yet again.
***************
End chapter eight
A/N: Sorry this chapter is out so late, I've had a busy week. *Author bows to her readers in apology* Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. J
A/N: I know this chapter is not great, and for that I apologize. To me it seems a little choppy, and Lucius seems out of character, so does Hermione, and I couldn't seem to fix that when I looked over it.
A/N: So what do you think, should I let Alexander live, or should he die?
TBYS: Don't worry, Harry won't be left out there much longer. Thank you so much for reviewing!
Moonlight: I have been told once or twice that I was cruel, however I'm not that cruel am I? I haven't left that many cliffhangers. And this chapter isn't really a cliffhanger is it? And anyway Harry will be out of the forest in no time, you'll see. I'm glad that you liked the last chapter.
snowwy54: Well Alexander does get away from Azkaban, however as to whether he lives or dies, we'll see . . .And Remus and Sirius was dominate the next two chapters, so you will definitely see them soon. I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, that was a hard chapter to write, especially since I wanted to keep skipping ahead to the end of it.
RedFeather: Of course I liked your story, and no it's not second class garbage compared to mine. It's at least on par with mine. And your other story Of Midnight Black is really good too; you did a good job in creating Rikalyn. As to how old am I? I'm 16. Anyways, I hope that you liked this chapter.
usa32: So you think I should save Alexander? As to who will save Harry, you'll see soon. Thank you so much for reviewing, I hope that this chapter was alright.
Mrs. Moony: I'm pleased that you liked my last chapter. As to how often I'm able to update, I try to update at least once a week, but it really depends on how my life is going.
Death Eater: No don't choke, you haven't read the best part yet! *author whacks Death Eater on the back* I hope that you liked the chapter. So what do you think, should I kill off Alexander, or let him live? I'm still not sure which to do yet. . . Anyways I hope that this chapter was OK.
Lady Python: It was very easy to do that, and besides I didn't want Dumbledore to rescue Harry, not yet anyways. Thank you so much! J I hope that you liked this chapter.
amazing typo: Thank you!!!
Lady FoxFire: I know cliffhangers are evil. What about your wonderful stories, are you going to leave us hanging right there forever? I hope that you do update soon. Sorry I couldn't update sooner, life has been a little busy recently.
august wynd: What about you, do you think that I should kill off Alexander? And don't worry Snape's not in any more pain than he is use to. I'm glad that you liked the last chapter J
Reiken: I'm glad that you like the plot line, I've had several people tell me that they didn't like it very much. I find it hard to believe that it's not predictable, maybe that's just because I wrote the story though, but I'm glad that you think it's not. And don't worry, I don't plan on stopping this story until its complete, which hopefully it will be by Christmas. And see Severus isn't dead, and I'll try not to kill him . . . Thank you so much for reviewing, and for your compliments, they mean a lot. I hope that you continue to read and review!
shadowarwen: Of course Harry's going to be found, I couldn't leave him out there, I'm not that mean. As to what happens to Alexander, it really depends on what all you readers think. Do you think he should stay or go? I'm sorry that this chapter wasn't out earlier, I'll try to have the next two out very soon. I hope that this chapter was alright.
carol: Thank you. As to your question yes he does, you are the only one who seems to have realized that though. This will come into play in the future, I already had a plan for it. Thank you so much for reviewing. I hope that this chapter wasn't a disappointment.
Sara Minks: PSATs what exam is that? There's so many exams nowadays that I can't keep a track of any of them, especially for university. And where I live, they don't really tell you anything about prepping for University or college, which I better start pretty soon . . . *Sigh* I don't want to leave high school yet though, I don't even know what I want to be. (Well I would love to be an author, but I don't think that's going to happen). Anyways you want Alexander to live? I'll keep that in mind. As to how Albus did not get the letter, well Severus, being in a rush placed it somewhere out in the open and fate had it so that the note just happened to disappear. And Dumbledore was given the information so that he could meet Harry and Alexander at the small grove, that's what was on the note. Severus was also supposed to meet them there, but he suspected that something bad would happen so he put the note as a precaution. And yes when Harry got to the grove he was remembering the Tri-Wizard Tournament. I changed that part just a little bit so that it made more sense, thanks for pointing that out. As to Wormtail, he thinks that being a traitor causes nothing but pain, so he decided that he would not be a traitor again, and lucky thing he did, or else he would have been killed . . . We can't kill him yet, we need him to prove Sirius' innocence. I hope that this chapter helped to answer some of your questions.
Kalih: Well I was going to kill Alex, however you could save him if you begged for his life . . .And I don't think I'll kill Snape just yet, he's needed for the future . . .And he's one of my favorite characters, along with Sirius. I'm glad that you like my fic. Hope that this chapters not a disappointment.
All reviews as of October 20, 2002