Chapter 9
At the same time that so many people were searching for them, James and Lily were in a large and ornately decorated bedroom together in an ancient mansion atop a rounded hill.
"So, what do we do now?" asked James from his seat at the old wooden desk.
"We do what we have to do" answered Lily from the queen sized bed she was lying on.
"Which is?" asked James in irritation. Even though Lily was usually the most lighthearted and carefree of the pair, she would occasionally get into these vague and confusing moods, quite similar to the customary state of the headmaster of Hogwarts.
Lily sighed heavily and sat up on her knees like she was getting ready to explain something really simple to young, dumb child. James just humored her with an expressionless mask, she may act like their Aunt Hermione, but he wasn't a Slytherin for nothing, he had learned a few things from his housemates and head of house during his years at Hogwarts.
"Well, we have three options, really" began Lily finally after she was resettled on the bed "First, we go back to Hogwarts and pretend like everything is like it used to be and live a life of complete lies again. Or, second, we leave Iniquitous and everyone at Hogwarts behind and try to make it on our own, which would be impossible since we are too young to support ourselves. Or, third, we stay with Iniquitous, who was the only one to show us the truth about who and what our parents and their friends are, and try to stop them from succeeding in their goals" she finished quietly with her eyes trained on the bedspread..
"I know all of that, and there is only one choice we could possibly make and live with for the rest of our lives, but does any of this feel strange to you?" asked James in an equally quiet voice without meeting his sisters eyes.
"You mean going against everything we have ever been taught and told for our entire lives?" asked Lily abruptly as she locked gazes with her brother.
"Yes, that and challenging our parents like this" elaborated James
"It does, but it just seems like the only thing we can do" said Lily
"I know what you mean, it's either do this or go back and let them force us into becoming who they want us to be" said James with a sigh.
"Why do you think they did all that?" asked Lily suddenly of her brother, and he knew what she was talking about instantly because he had been wondering the same thing since all of this had started.
"I'm not sure exactly, but I have a few ideas" he began "You know how father was the boy-who-lived and everything?" at Lily's nod he continued "Well, I think that having the hopes of the entire wizarding world on his shoulders like that caused him to do whatever he felt necessary in order to defeat the dark lord" he said as he stared out the window at the rapidly darkening horizon over the distant forest as he gathered the rest of his thoughts before continuing.
"What are you getting at James?" asked Lily in confusion, her brothers words had made no sense and she was becoming impatient at having to wait for him to continue.
"Just that because of the pressure he was under that he was forced to become a little dark himself in order to defeat the dark" he said and his previous words now made much more sense.
"Ok, I think I agree with you on all of this, but where do mum and the rest fit into all of this?" she asked after a moments silence
"Well, judging by what we saw, I think that at first they were scared of him and of everything that he had done, like cursing Sirius and everything, and that's why they attacked him, but apparently something happened and he was able to win them over to his side, and I would bet anything that they were just so grateful for him defeating the dark lord and they felt indebted to him. That combined with the fact that he is so much stronger than everyone else. They were probably too scared to fight against him and were eventually brainwashed into thinking how he does and covering up everything that had happened" answered James, and to two thirteen year olds, the explanation sounded not only plausible, but perfectly reasonable, especially given the limited information they had been given from their family and Iniquitous.
"I guess your right, but what can we do to fix all of this?" asked Lily finally.
"Just what Iniquitous told us we have to do, stop fathers quest to rule the wizarding world before he manages to corrupt anyone else. So many already follow him who have no idea about what an evil person he became, I bet none of them even know that he has cast an unforgivable curse at those who love him, or that they even tried to stop him but weren't successful."
"You're right, we are the only ones who have any hope of standing up to his power, no one else is anywhere near him as far as his magical powers are concerned, no one but the two of us when we work together" said Lily with a determined look on her face.
Just then there was a pop as a house elf appeared in the room "Master James, Mistress Lily, your presence has been requested in the main hall for dinner immediately" he said in his high squeaky voice before he bowed and disappeared with another pop.
"Well, we must be going then, I guess" said James as he got to his feet and pulled his sister up off the bed before they both strode from the large bedroom and through the maze of passages to the main dining hall in silence.
"Children, please join me" said the deep and commanding voice of their host as soon as they had entered. Even though they trusted and followed the man, he still made them nervous. "I hope your day was productive" he said as he waved his hand and the house elves began to serve them.
"Yes sir, the library here is quite useful and large" answered James as Lily began to eat in silence.
"I'm glad you appreciate it and I hope you will get some good use out of it while you are here"
"Thank you, sir" said Lily quietly.
"You are quite welcome. Now onto more pressing matters. There is something I must ask of you two. I sent a letter to your father asking him to meet me in the morning and I would like you to accompany me to this meeting. Now, before you get worried, I am not asking you to challenge your father at this time, but you must be prepared in case something does happen. Many of my followers will be there as well so you will have nothing to fear from your father" he said when he noted their worried expressions.
"Why are you meeting him now if you don't plan on challenging him?" asked James hesitantly when it became obvious that he wouldn't otherwise be getting the answer.
"Merely to talk to him on peaceful terms to establish my cause to him and give him the opportunity to come clean before open warfare becomes necessary" he answered smoothly "Now, finish your dinner. I will meet you in the entrance hall an hour before sunrise, don't be late" he instructed as he stood and left the room, leaving two nervous and silent teenagers behind him.
Neither James nor Lily spoke a word as they finished their meals before they each left for their own rooms to get a few hours of sleep before they were meet their father and announce to him that they would stand against him unless he allowed the truth to come out and faced the consequences of his actions.
When they were awakened the next morning by a house elf, both dressed in plain black robes that were brought to them and proceeded to the entrance hall, arriving at the same time as their host.
"Good morning, children, I trust you slept well?" he asked as he handed them each a heavy black cloak which they wrapped around their shoulders. When they both nodded their heads mutely he continued "Now, each of you drink up, we can't have you catching colds out in this wretched weather" he said as he handed them each a vile of silver liquid, and after sharing a quick glance with each other, they downed the contents, each felling a douse of cold before warmth overtook them "Come now, we mustn't keep our guest waiting" he said as he strode from the hall and out the door into the rain, James and Lily on his heels. As soon as they had cleared the threshold, they were joined by nearly thirty black clad people who fell into step behind the teenagers. The large group walked in silence down the hill and to a large graveyard located at the bottom of it, where even more people clad in black robes were waiting for them, surrounding the perimeter of the graveyard and creating an imposing blockade. "Now, we wait for the guest of honor to join us" said Iniquitous and the entire gathering fell into silence for nearly twenty minutes before a soft pop sounded from somewhere outside of the perimeter of those gathered. "Ah, Harry Potter, please, join us" said Iniquitous with a broad sweep of his arms, and instantly those gathered on the opposite side of the clearing parted and allowed a man wearing the blue robes trimmed in gold of a high ranking ministry official and a scarlet and gold cloak to enter the clearing.
"Where are my children?" he demanded as soon as he had laid eyes on the smiling man, his hand tightening on his staff and the other clenched into a fist.
"There is nothing to fear, Potter, they are here" said Iniquitous as he motioned to the twins who were standing behind him, flanked by several of his followers.
"James, Lily, are you ok?" asked Harry as he began to walk toward his children, but before he had taken a half dozen steps, his arms were gripped to his sides and he was face to face with nearly twenty wands. "I wouldn't try that if I were you" he growled to those standing against him.
"Now now, Potter, we have done nothing to warrant an attack from you" said Iniquitous.
"Let me go and give me my children now, or you will regret it" warned Harry as he tried to pull his arms from the grasp that they were held in, with no success.
"I'm sorry, Potter, but I can't do that, for we have much to discuss. Now, as I see it, you have two options, firstly, you inform the wizarding world about what really happened between you and Voldemort and face the consequences, or you can stand back and let me do the honors for you" he said as he strode in a circle around the restrained Harry.
"What does any of that have to do with you? Why do you care what happened so many years ago? And what baring does any of this have on my children?" demanded Harry in confusion.
"Simple, Potter, once the wizarding world realizes that you are nothing but a fraud, they will rise against you and those that foolishly follow you, and I intend to lead that uprising. You see, no one wants to follow someone who has knowingly cast unforgivable curses and attacked others using dark magic. Furthermore, they won't want to follow the one who was possessed by Voldemort, after all, how can anyone be certain that you aren't controlled by him even now?" he asked with his brow furrowed.
"No one will believe what you tell them" said Harry with confidence that he didn't really feel.
"That is where you are wrong, Potter, just look at your children, once they heard the truth they turned against you and you have raised them for their entire lives. The others won't even take that much convincing"
"You're wrong" said Harry forcefully as he again struggled against his captors.
"Perhaps, but we will not know for sure until after you are defeated, not even I am so foolish as to try this while you are alive. But never fear, the battle won't happen tonight, no, tonight we will just weaken you" he said and with a wave of his wand, the manacles on his wrists began to glow a deep red, almost black and his wrists began to burn as though the metal were on fire.
Harry gasped in pain and his staff fell from his grasp at his side as he fell hard to his knees as soon as the other men had released him "Wh...what are you doing?" he stuttered out as he pulled his arms up to his chest in a vain hope of alleviating the burning in his wrists.
"Nothing much, just reenacting the spell that was placed on those when they were first put on you so that you can't escape too easily. But I will admit, I have added a few more...interesting aspects of my own. Not to pleasant, is it?" he asked as he nodded his head toward one of his followers who raised his wand and muttered "crucio" so quietly that Harry didn't have any warning about what was going to hit him.
Immediately, Harry was lying on his side on the muddy ground, his teeth clenched in agony and every muscle was tightened in unbearable pain, amplified by the spells that bound his magic and weakened him almost to the point of exhaustion. He was hesitant to fight back, with the innocent eyes of his children watching everything he did, he couldn't give them even more reason to hate him. He would just take the pain and hope that they realized how wrong all of this was.
He was held under the curse for nearly ten minutes before it was lifted and he was left panting, gasping, and trembling on the muddy ground.
"Tell me, James, Lily, what do you think of your great father now? Do you still believe him to be the most powerful wizard to have ever lived? Do you still think him unbeatable?" he asked as he turned to face the two children, both of whom had looks of pure loathing on their young faces.
"Kids, please...don't believe him...he's just trying to...turn you against...us" gasped Harry weakly before he was over taken by a violent coughing fit.
"Potter, this is your chance, the only one I'm going to give you, to try and get your children to leave with you. You have two minutes, make them count" he said before he turned in a swirl of robes and motioned for James and Lily to step forward.
Harry struggled to his feet unsteadily and absently wiped a trickle of blood from his chin where he had bit his lip during the duration of the curse. Ignoring the weakness caused by the permanent bands around his wrists and the pain still coursing through his body, he looked into the eyes of his children, both pairs of eyes inherited from their Slytherin heritage, identical to his own. He grasped his staff, for nothing more than to help him remain on his own two feet since he was unable to perform any magic at the moment.
"James, Lily, please, listen to me" he began before he broke down into a coughing fit once again, causing more pain to shoot through his body for a few moments before he could continue "I don't know what he's told you, but you can't jump to conclusions based on it. Give us a chance to tell you the whole story, there is so much that no one else knows about" he said, pausing for a moment to allow them to think it over.
"Why didn't you just tell us the truth from the beginning?" asked James
"Because, I didn't want you to have to bear it, I was eighteen before I found out a lot of this, and it still took me years to come to terms with it, I didn't want you to have to go through all of this while you were so young" he said weakly as he felt his weight overpowering his shaky legs.
"Is that it, or were you just trying to hide the fact that Voldemort possessed you and that you attacked a school full of children and tried to torture our mother and your godfather" said Lily, and before he could respond, James began speaking as well.
"Perhaps you were trying to hide the relationship between yourself and Voldemort and the fact that you are the last heir of Salazar Slytherin as well. Or maybe it was the fact that you have somehow managed to brainwash mum and the others into believing that you fight for good when in actuality you are trying to take Voldemort's place" he said coolly.
"No, you don't understand, he has lied to you" protested Harry weakly as his vision swam violently.
"Times up, Potter, James, Lily, please return to the house, you five accompany them" he said as he pointed to five of his followers who had come with them to the graveyard and at once, the group left "Gentlemen, enjoy yourselves, but leave him alive, this battle doesn't end yet" he said as he turned once again to face Harry "And Potter, just so that you know, your children are now mine, and as soon as they have done what it is I want them to do, I will kill them, and it's all your fault for not being honest with them from the start. I want you to live with this thought for a time, and I want to see you humiliated in front of those who once revered you before I watch you die at the hands of those whom you love so much you wouldn't dare to fight back" he said so quietly that he couldn't be overheard and in a hissing voice frighteningly similar to Voldemort's.
The next ten minutes were filled with the sounds of the black clad men taking turns beating Harry, punches and kicks rained down on his already weakened form with the occasional cruciatus curse thrown in for good measure, but no matter what, Harry refused to cry out. He had been through far worse in his past at the hands of Voldemort and the death eaters.
After the round of torture, Iniquitous ordered that he stand, and two of the other men yanked him to his feet and after gripping his staff once again, he was able to stand on his own, although very shakily. "You are weak, Potter, you always have been. Strong men would not have allowed this to happen to them. Strong men would not have allowed another man to take his children and turn them against him. You are and always have been weak, Potter"
With that being said, he turned his back on and infuriated Harry and began to walk away when a strange sound cut the silence, without a word, he waved his wand and the gleaming Gryffindor sword flew into his hand "Low, Potter, even for you, trying to attack an unarmed man from behind" he said as he turned back around to face the black haired man "And I won't tolerate it" he hissed before he thrust the sword toward the man, sending the sharp blade directly into his stomach with no reaction whatsoever.
Harry couldn't help it, he screamed out in agony as the blade ran through his abdomen, his hands gripping his stomach and immediately becoming coated in thick blood. Iniquitous let go of the hilt and Harry fell onto his side, gasping. His vision clouded over and the sounds of the forest faded, but before it was completely silent within his mind, he heard one more thing "We will meet again, Potter, and you will die" and with those words swimming through his mind, he surrendered to the pain and lost consciousness, his hands still gripping the blade that was implanted in his stomach.
"Leave him, no doubt his friends will be here soon. I will contact you when it is time" said Iniquitous as he strode from the clearing toward the large house, the sounds of his followers disapparating around him until the graveyard was completely empty except for the bruised and bleeding unconscious Harry lying among the old decaying tombstones.
It was nearly an hour later before there was any other sound in the graveyard, another series of pops as more people apparated.
"I don't think anyone is here. Are you sure this is the right place?" asked Draco as he surveyed his immediate surroundings and saw nothing out of the ordinary.
"Well, lets at least look around and make sure we don't miss anything, for all we know they could have already left and Harry is back at Hogwarts or the ministry as we speak" said Hermione hopefully to the rest of group consisting Ron, Draco, Ginny, and Kristin.
"Ok, be careful though, you never know when someone is going to show up" said Ron as they all pulled their wands and began to walk through the graveyard.
"You know, this place is even more creepy in person than Harry described it" muttered Ginny as she trembled involuntarily at the shadows and unnatural silence.
"I agree" answered Hermione quietly as they followed the three aurors further into the clearing, their eyes constantly scanning the dim forest that surrounded the graveyard. Only a few minutes had passed before Ron stopped in his tracks and broke the uneasy silence.
"Oh Merlin, Harry" he whispered before he broke into a run, drawing the attention of the others. What they saw caused their blood to run cold. There, between a pair of headstones was the famous Harry Potter, bruised and unconscious, lying in a large pool of his own blood.
"NO! HARRY!" screamed Ginny as she too rushed forward and fell to the ground beside her brother who was shakily checking her husbands neck for a pulse.
"He's alive, but not for long, we need to get him to a healer" said Ron with a sigh after feeling a weak pulse.
"Who did this?" asked Kristin hoarsely, her eyes never leaving the sword.
"I don't know, but they had to have done something to him to keep him from retaliating, no one is strong enough to take him on under normal circumstances" said Draco and all the others silently agreed with him.
"Here, everyone grab on" said Hermione as she held out a tree branch that she had turned into a portkey.
Without a word, they did as she said and in a swirl of color, they found themselves on the floor of the great hall of Hogwarts.
"We can't move him, Kristin, go get Poppy, Draco, get the headmaster and Remus and Sirius, we'll wait here" she said as she began casting spells to heal the minor damage and slow the bleeding. It took only a few minutes for Poppy to show up, and when she did, it took a moment for her to regain enough composure to begin treating the head auror.
A/N: I know it's been forever, but real life has a tendency of getting in the way occasionally, and I can't do anything about that. The new semester started and I'm taking senior level classes that require a lot of studying. I know it's not an excuse, but it's the truth. Ok, let me know what you think, and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible, but all I can promise is that it won't take months like this one did, hopefully a couple of weeks tops. Oh, yeah, this would have been out almost a week ago, but I was banned from posting for a time because I broke that stupid new rule about not having chapters for A/N's or announcements. I didn't even know there was a rule against it or anything, but oh well. Enjoy and please review, it encourages me to get the next part up faster!
At the same time that so many people were searching for them, James and Lily were in a large and ornately decorated bedroom together in an ancient mansion atop a rounded hill.
"So, what do we do now?" asked James from his seat at the old wooden desk.
"We do what we have to do" answered Lily from the queen sized bed she was lying on.
"Which is?" asked James in irritation. Even though Lily was usually the most lighthearted and carefree of the pair, she would occasionally get into these vague and confusing moods, quite similar to the customary state of the headmaster of Hogwarts.
Lily sighed heavily and sat up on her knees like she was getting ready to explain something really simple to young, dumb child. James just humored her with an expressionless mask, she may act like their Aunt Hermione, but he wasn't a Slytherin for nothing, he had learned a few things from his housemates and head of house during his years at Hogwarts.
"Well, we have three options, really" began Lily finally after she was resettled on the bed "First, we go back to Hogwarts and pretend like everything is like it used to be and live a life of complete lies again. Or, second, we leave Iniquitous and everyone at Hogwarts behind and try to make it on our own, which would be impossible since we are too young to support ourselves. Or, third, we stay with Iniquitous, who was the only one to show us the truth about who and what our parents and their friends are, and try to stop them from succeeding in their goals" she finished quietly with her eyes trained on the bedspread..
"I know all of that, and there is only one choice we could possibly make and live with for the rest of our lives, but does any of this feel strange to you?" asked James in an equally quiet voice without meeting his sisters eyes.
"You mean going against everything we have ever been taught and told for our entire lives?" asked Lily abruptly as she locked gazes with her brother.
"Yes, that and challenging our parents like this" elaborated James
"It does, but it just seems like the only thing we can do" said Lily
"I know what you mean, it's either do this or go back and let them force us into becoming who they want us to be" said James with a sigh.
"Why do you think they did all that?" asked Lily suddenly of her brother, and he knew what she was talking about instantly because he had been wondering the same thing since all of this had started.
"I'm not sure exactly, but I have a few ideas" he began "You know how father was the boy-who-lived and everything?" at Lily's nod he continued "Well, I think that having the hopes of the entire wizarding world on his shoulders like that caused him to do whatever he felt necessary in order to defeat the dark lord" he said as he stared out the window at the rapidly darkening horizon over the distant forest as he gathered the rest of his thoughts before continuing.
"What are you getting at James?" asked Lily in confusion, her brothers words had made no sense and she was becoming impatient at having to wait for him to continue.
"Just that because of the pressure he was under that he was forced to become a little dark himself in order to defeat the dark" he said and his previous words now made much more sense.
"Ok, I think I agree with you on all of this, but where do mum and the rest fit into all of this?" she asked after a moments silence
"Well, judging by what we saw, I think that at first they were scared of him and of everything that he had done, like cursing Sirius and everything, and that's why they attacked him, but apparently something happened and he was able to win them over to his side, and I would bet anything that they were just so grateful for him defeating the dark lord and they felt indebted to him. That combined with the fact that he is so much stronger than everyone else. They were probably too scared to fight against him and were eventually brainwashed into thinking how he does and covering up everything that had happened" answered James, and to two thirteen year olds, the explanation sounded not only plausible, but perfectly reasonable, especially given the limited information they had been given from their family and Iniquitous.
"I guess your right, but what can we do to fix all of this?" asked Lily finally.
"Just what Iniquitous told us we have to do, stop fathers quest to rule the wizarding world before he manages to corrupt anyone else. So many already follow him who have no idea about what an evil person he became, I bet none of them even know that he has cast an unforgivable curse at those who love him, or that they even tried to stop him but weren't successful."
"You're right, we are the only ones who have any hope of standing up to his power, no one else is anywhere near him as far as his magical powers are concerned, no one but the two of us when we work together" said Lily with a determined look on her face.
Just then there was a pop as a house elf appeared in the room "Master James, Mistress Lily, your presence has been requested in the main hall for dinner immediately" he said in his high squeaky voice before he bowed and disappeared with another pop.
"Well, we must be going then, I guess" said James as he got to his feet and pulled his sister up off the bed before they both strode from the large bedroom and through the maze of passages to the main dining hall in silence.
"Children, please join me" said the deep and commanding voice of their host as soon as they had entered. Even though they trusted and followed the man, he still made them nervous. "I hope your day was productive" he said as he waved his hand and the house elves began to serve them.
"Yes sir, the library here is quite useful and large" answered James as Lily began to eat in silence.
"I'm glad you appreciate it and I hope you will get some good use out of it while you are here"
"Thank you, sir" said Lily quietly.
"You are quite welcome. Now onto more pressing matters. There is something I must ask of you two. I sent a letter to your father asking him to meet me in the morning and I would like you to accompany me to this meeting. Now, before you get worried, I am not asking you to challenge your father at this time, but you must be prepared in case something does happen. Many of my followers will be there as well so you will have nothing to fear from your father" he said when he noted their worried expressions.
"Why are you meeting him now if you don't plan on challenging him?" asked James hesitantly when it became obvious that he wouldn't otherwise be getting the answer.
"Merely to talk to him on peaceful terms to establish my cause to him and give him the opportunity to come clean before open warfare becomes necessary" he answered smoothly "Now, finish your dinner. I will meet you in the entrance hall an hour before sunrise, don't be late" he instructed as he stood and left the room, leaving two nervous and silent teenagers behind him.
Neither James nor Lily spoke a word as they finished their meals before they each left for their own rooms to get a few hours of sleep before they were meet their father and announce to him that they would stand against him unless he allowed the truth to come out and faced the consequences of his actions.
When they were awakened the next morning by a house elf, both dressed in plain black robes that were brought to them and proceeded to the entrance hall, arriving at the same time as their host.
"Good morning, children, I trust you slept well?" he asked as he handed them each a heavy black cloak which they wrapped around their shoulders. When they both nodded their heads mutely he continued "Now, each of you drink up, we can't have you catching colds out in this wretched weather" he said as he handed them each a vile of silver liquid, and after sharing a quick glance with each other, they downed the contents, each felling a douse of cold before warmth overtook them "Come now, we mustn't keep our guest waiting" he said as he strode from the hall and out the door into the rain, James and Lily on his heels. As soon as they had cleared the threshold, they were joined by nearly thirty black clad people who fell into step behind the teenagers. The large group walked in silence down the hill and to a large graveyard located at the bottom of it, where even more people clad in black robes were waiting for them, surrounding the perimeter of the graveyard and creating an imposing blockade. "Now, we wait for the guest of honor to join us" said Iniquitous and the entire gathering fell into silence for nearly twenty minutes before a soft pop sounded from somewhere outside of the perimeter of those gathered. "Ah, Harry Potter, please, join us" said Iniquitous with a broad sweep of his arms, and instantly those gathered on the opposite side of the clearing parted and allowed a man wearing the blue robes trimmed in gold of a high ranking ministry official and a scarlet and gold cloak to enter the clearing.
"Where are my children?" he demanded as soon as he had laid eyes on the smiling man, his hand tightening on his staff and the other clenched into a fist.
"There is nothing to fear, Potter, they are here" said Iniquitous as he motioned to the twins who were standing behind him, flanked by several of his followers.
"James, Lily, are you ok?" asked Harry as he began to walk toward his children, but before he had taken a half dozen steps, his arms were gripped to his sides and he was face to face with nearly twenty wands. "I wouldn't try that if I were you" he growled to those standing against him.
"Now now, Potter, we have done nothing to warrant an attack from you" said Iniquitous.
"Let me go and give me my children now, or you will regret it" warned Harry as he tried to pull his arms from the grasp that they were held in, with no success.
"I'm sorry, Potter, but I can't do that, for we have much to discuss. Now, as I see it, you have two options, firstly, you inform the wizarding world about what really happened between you and Voldemort and face the consequences, or you can stand back and let me do the honors for you" he said as he strode in a circle around the restrained Harry.
"What does any of that have to do with you? Why do you care what happened so many years ago? And what baring does any of this have on my children?" demanded Harry in confusion.
"Simple, Potter, once the wizarding world realizes that you are nothing but a fraud, they will rise against you and those that foolishly follow you, and I intend to lead that uprising. You see, no one wants to follow someone who has knowingly cast unforgivable curses and attacked others using dark magic. Furthermore, they won't want to follow the one who was possessed by Voldemort, after all, how can anyone be certain that you aren't controlled by him even now?" he asked with his brow furrowed.
"No one will believe what you tell them" said Harry with confidence that he didn't really feel.
"That is where you are wrong, Potter, just look at your children, once they heard the truth they turned against you and you have raised them for their entire lives. The others won't even take that much convincing"
"You're wrong" said Harry forcefully as he again struggled against his captors.
"Perhaps, but we will not know for sure until after you are defeated, not even I am so foolish as to try this while you are alive. But never fear, the battle won't happen tonight, no, tonight we will just weaken you" he said and with a wave of his wand, the manacles on his wrists began to glow a deep red, almost black and his wrists began to burn as though the metal were on fire.
Harry gasped in pain and his staff fell from his grasp at his side as he fell hard to his knees as soon as the other men had released him "Wh...what are you doing?" he stuttered out as he pulled his arms up to his chest in a vain hope of alleviating the burning in his wrists.
"Nothing much, just reenacting the spell that was placed on those when they were first put on you so that you can't escape too easily. But I will admit, I have added a few more...interesting aspects of my own. Not to pleasant, is it?" he asked as he nodded his head toward one of his followers who raised his wand and muttered "crucio" so quietly that Harry didn't have any warning about what was going to hit him.
Immediately, Harry was lying on his side on the muddy ground, his teeth clenched in agony and every muscle was tightened in unbearable pain, amplified by the spells that bound his magic and weakened him almost to the point of exhaustion. He was hesitant to fight back, with the innocent eyes of his children watching everything he did, he couldn't give them even more reason to hate him. He would just take the pain and hope that they realized how wrong all of this was.
He was held under the curse for nearly ten minutes before it was lifted and he was left panting, gasping, and trembling on the muddy ground.
"Tell me, James, Lily, what do you think of your great father now? Do you still believe him to be the most powerful wizard to have ever lived? Do you still think him unbeatable?" he asked as he turned to face the two children, both of whom had looks of pure loathing on their young faces.
"Kids, please...don't believe him...he's just trying to...turn you against...us" gasped Harry weakly before he was over taken by a violent coughing fit.
"Potter, this is your chance, the only one I'm going to give you, to try and get your children to leave with you. You have two minutes, make them count" he said before he turned in a swirl of robes and motioned for James and Lily to step forward.
Harry struggled to his feet unsteadily and absently wiped a trickle of blood from his chin where he had bit his lip during the duration of the curse. Ignoring the weakness caused by the permanent bands around his wrists and the pain still coursing through his body, he looked into the eyes of his children, both pairs of eyes inherited from their Slytherin heritage, identical to his own. He grasped his staff, for nothing more than to help him remain on his own two feet since he was unable to perform any magic at the moment.
"James, Lily, please, listen to me" he began before he broke down into a coughing fit once again, causing more pain to shoot through his body for a few moments before he could continue "I don't know what he's told you, but you can't jump to conclusions based on it. Give us a chance to tell you the whole story, there is so much that no one else knows about" he said, pausing for a moment to allow them to think it over.
"Why didn't you just tell us the truth from the beginning?" asked James
"Because, I didn't want you to have to bear it, I was eighteen before I found out a lot of this, and it still took me years to come to terms with it, I didn't want you to have to go through all of this while you were so young" he said weakly as he felt his weight overpowering his shaky legs.
"Is that it, or were you just trying to hide the fact that Voldemort possessed you and that you attacked a school full of children and tried to torture our mother and your godfather" said Lily, and before he could respond, James began speaking as well.
"Perhaps you were trying to hide the relationship between yourself and Voldemort and the fact that you are the last heir of Salazar Slytherin as well. Or maybe it was the fact that you have somehow managed to brainwash mum and the others into believing that you fight for good when in actuality you are trying to take Voldemort's place" he said coolly.
"No, you don't understand, he has lied to you" protested Harry weakly as his vision swam violently.
"Times up, Potter, James, Lily, please return to the house, you five accompany them" he said as he pointed to five of his followers who had come with them to the graveyard and at once, the group left "Gentlemen, enjoy yourselves, but leave him alive, this battle doesn't end yet" he said as he turned once again to face Harry "And Potter, just so that you know, your children are now mine, and as soon as they have done what it is I want them to do, I will kill them, and it's all your fault for not being honest with them from the start. I want you to live with this thought for a time, and I want to see you humiliated in front of those who once revered you before I watch you die at the hands of those whom you love so much you wouldn't dare to fight back" he said so quietly that he couldn't be overheard and in a hissing voice frighteningly similar to Voldemort's.
The next ten minutes were filled with the sounds of the black clad men taking turns beating Harry, punches and kicks rained down on his already weakened form with the occasional cruciatus curse thrown in for good measure, but no matter what, Harry refused to cry out. He had been through far worse in his past at the hands of Voldemort and the death eaters.
After the round of torture, Iniquitous ordered that he stand, and two of the other men yanked him to his feet and after gripping his staff once again, he was able to stand on his own, although very shakily. "You are weak, Potter, you always have been. Strong men would not have allowed this to happen to them. Strong men would not have allowed another man to take his children and turn them against him. You are and always have been weak, Potter"
With that being said, he turned his back on and infuriated Harry and began to walk away when a strange sound cut the silence, without a word, he waved his wand and the gleaming Gryffindor sword flew into his hand "Low, Potter, even for you, trying to attack an unarmed man from behind" he said as he turned back around to face the black haired man "And I won't tolerate it" he hissed before he thrust the sword toward the man, sending the sharp blade directly into his stomach with no reaction whatsoever.
Harry couldn't help it, he screamed out in agony as the blade ran through his abdomen, his hands gripping his stomach and immediately becoming coated in thick blood. Iniquitous let go of the hilt and Harry fell onto his side, gasping. His vision clouded over and the sounds of the forest faded, but before it was completely silent within his mind, he heard one more thing "We will meet again, Potter, and you will die" and with those words swimming through his mind, he surrendered to the pain and lost consciousness, his hands still gripping the blade that was implanted in his stomach.
"Leave him, no doubt his friends will be here soon. I will contact you when it is time" said Iniquitous as he strode from the clearing toward the large house, the sounds of his followers disapparating around him until the graveyard was completely empty except for the bruised and bleeding unconscious Harry lying among the old decaying tombstones.
It was nearly an hour later before there was any other sound in the graveyard, another series of pops as more people apparated.
"I don't think anyone is here. Are you sure this is the right place?" asked Draco as he surveyed his immediate surroundings and saw nothing out of the ordinary.
"Well, lets at least look around and make sure we don't miss anything, for all we know they could have already left and Harry is back at Hogwarts or the ministry as we speak" said Hermione hopefully to the rest of group consisting Ron, Draco, Ginny, and Kristin.
"Ok, be careful though, you never know when someone is going to show up" said Ron as they all pulled their wands and began to walk through the graveyard.
"You know, this place is even more creepy in person than Harry described it" muttered Ginny as she trembled involuntarily at the shadows and unnatural silence.
"I agree" answered Hermione quietly as they followed the three aurors further into the clearing, their eyes constantly scanning the dim forest that surrounded the graveyard. Only a few minutes had passed before Ron stopped in his tracks and broke the uneasy silence.
"Oh Merlin, Harry" he whispered before he broke into a run, drawing the attention of the others. What they saw caused their blood to run cold. There, between a pair of headstones was the famous Harry Potter, bruised and unconscious, lying in a large pool of his own blood.
"NO! HARRY!" screamed Ginny as she too rushed forward and fell to the ground beside her brother who was shakily checking her husbands neck for a pulse.
"He's alive, but not for long, we need to get him to a healer" said Ron with a sigh after feeling a weak pulse.
"Who did this?" asked Kristin hoarsely, her eyes never leaving the sword.
"I don't know, but they had to have done something to him to keep him from retaliating, no one is strong enough to take him on under normal circumstances" said Draco and all the others silently agreed with him.
"Here, everyone grab on" said Hermione as she held out a tree branch that she had turned into a portkey.
Without a word, they did as she said and in a swirl of color, they found themselves on the floor of the great hall of Hogwarts.
"We can't move him, Kristin, go get Poppy, Draco, get the headmaster and Remus and Sirius, we'll wait here" she said as she began casting spells to heal the minor damage and slow the bleeding. It took only a few minutes for Poppy to show up, and when she did, it took a moment for her to regain enough composure to begin treating the head auror.
A/N: I know it's been forever, but real life has a tendency of getting in the way occasionally, and I can't do anything about that. The new semester started and I'm taking senior level classes that require a lot of studying. I know it's not an excuse, but it's the truth. Ok, let me know what you think, and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible, but all I can promise is that it won't take months like this one did, hopefully a couple of weeks tops. Oh, yeah, this would have been out almost a week ago, but I was banned from posting for a time because I broke that stupid new rule about not having chapters for A/N's or announcements. I didn't even know there was a rule against it or anything, but oh well. Enjoy and please review, it encourages me to get the next part up faster!