Scabbed Wings

While meetings of the Order of the Phoenix had most recently become tense social gatherings, little getting accomplished, lacking Dumbledore worry and hesitation was evident, in this early hour, as Minerva McGonagall watched her colleagues assemble, she could feel Dumbledore's presence. This was an emergency. A call to action. An event serious enough and damaging enough that there was no room for that worry or hesitation. Minerva just wished she could distance herself from it because at that moment, she was sure that she was likely the only one who had absolutely no desire to do what she had to.

That, though, was possibly because no one else yet knew what it entailed.

And she was about to tell them.

'Everyone, quiet please,' Minerva said, though it was unnecessary.

Only Arthur and Bill of the Weasleys were there, the others were presumably at St. Mungo's. Hagrid had returned, he had been marginally more successful in convincing the giants of their cause, though he was still sporting a broken jaw, he wouldn't be able to speak for another few hours until the bones mended. Minerva surveyed the other faces. A sad girl in the corner, a few tired eyes, a group of ministry aurors in their finest dress robes too.

Of course, thought Minerva, the ball. The most important members of the international wizarding community had descended upon London the previous evening for a celebration, she hadn't expected them to still be awake, but it was more than likely they had enchanted the building to ignore time in consideration of the foreign, broom-lagged guests.

They silently waited for her to speak.

'As I'm sure you all know, yesterday three students were taken hostage by Lord Voldemort, he used them as bait to get Harry to come to him,' Minerva began.

'See, I told you months ago that would have worked,' said a voice.

Minerva ignored him.

'Harry did,' she said. Eyes widened and a few people gasped, Hagrid dropped the ice he was holding to his jaw, 'he may have made a deal with Lord Voldemort because the students are released… that's really all we know… they were kept in Grimmauld Place but we believe it's protected.'

'But can't we-'

'Please,' Minerva continued, 'Remus is also there… in Grimmauld Place. He had trailed Harry to Severus's home where we lost him. About an hour ago, he contacted us with a twin mirror. He said Harry and Lord Voldemort were going to travel to the Dark Forest.'

'In Albania? What could he want there?' Arthur piped up.

'He knows more about that forest than anyone alive today,' Kingsley said, 'he could be practicing magic there that the Unspeakables have only read about.'

'But why Harry? What could he do there?' said Bill.

'I have a suspicion,' Minerva said, 'Ollivander never produced an heir, instead, he took Lily Potter as an apprentice. I can't be sure, but if she finished her training before she died, the legacy may have been passed to Harry.'

'So Harry's going to open a wand shop with Voldemort? I don't understand,' Bill's desperation to find out what was worth his siblings was becoming angry.

'The Wandmakers do more than that,' Kingsley said, 'they are the ones who control how magic flows. They don't actually put any in the wands, that all comes from the wizard, but they have the ability to control how it's channeled.'

'They can make people more powerful?' Bill said.

'No, no one can, but they can take the limits and restrictions off someone's power-' Minerva began.

'The dementors!' a ministry auror said.

'Yes, Voldemort is currently using the dementors and he can't do that and still keep his own power, when they were under Ministry control, it was a huge effort. Because they are powerful magical life forms, like those used in wands, they will channel magic. They've been dying recently. When Harry lit the bookshelves on fire a month ago, that temporarily balanced it. I'm assuming Voldemort needed to know whether Harry was actually powerful enough to balance his own.'

'So if Harry did inherit his mother's legacy, he would be able to make it possible for Voldemort's power to become infinite?'

'But there would still have to be a balance.'

Minerva looked in the direction of the speaker.

'Yes, I had thought about that… and… I believe it would be Harry… that way, Voldemort could use his power too,' Minerva said sadly.

'I don't get it-' Bill began.

'All you need to know is that it's bad!' Tonks yelled in a rare outburst from her corner of the circular room, 'Voldemort is powerful. Harry is powerful. Harry could make Voldemort much, much more powerful. That would be bad. Okay?' her face was paper while, Minerva had forgotten about her personal attachments to Remus.

'Well I-'

'Silence!' said McGonagall as though they were students, 'and we cannot forget that Remus is still out there somewhere,' she paused, 'as for Harry… we don't know anything about how he made the deal… how willing he was-'

Hagrid slammed his fist against the table, his eyes blazing at the idea of Harry helping Voldemort.

'I don't like the idea either, but we have to be prepared,' Minerva said, 'from what I've heard from the Godric's Hollow house elves and Hermione Granger, I believe he may have combined himself with ancient artifacts, creating something called an Agoncrux.'

Most faces were blank, obviously never having heard the term before. Even Minerva barely remembered it from a quiet and fugitive conversation with her Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor more than fifty years ago.

'…T-there are specific ways to… d-destroy someone with an Agoncrux,' Minerva said in a shaky voice.

There was a pause.

'Destroy Harry?' Tonks said, looking up, 'what do you mean?'

'I-I mean if Harry has decided to help Voldemort under his ow-'

'He hasn't!' Bill yelled. Hagrid looked bewildered.

'I completely agree,' Minerva said honestly, 'but we must be prepared, just in case,' Minerva agreed with all the scandalized members. If she heard someone speaking about Harry like she was, she would have been angry too.

No one objected this time. She pulled a scrap of yellowed paper from her robes, upon it were scribbled all she could gather about Agoncruxs in the hour.

'Avada Kedavra would work, but it would be difficult and this is Harry Potter, we really don't know how protected he still is against that particular curse. Beyond that, it looks like the natural magical defense we all have is stronger in people who have made an Agoncrux a-and the only sure thing would be destroying his ph-physical body.'

She stopped. She could tell by the looks on everyone's faces, no one was likely going to be stabbing him. Minerva was perversely and inexplicably relieved at this.

'But, of course, this is Harry and I doubt he would ever help Lord Voldemort. Likely, he's doing all this against his will… I… well… Kingsley could you contact the Minister and inform him of all this?' Minerva said. He nodded and left, 'some of us should stay behind, incase they use the opportunity to attack, others will need to accompany me to Albania. We should have the upper hand as Voldemort will not travel in the open.'

As the group split up and Kingsley brought back word that the Ministry had decided to lock down its buildings, Minerva wondered if any of this could actually work. It was one of this impossible moments when one is both completely alone and so deeply entrenched in problems, it becomes impossible to see the ending.

They had portkeyed so easily. Harry knew Voldemort was fond of the simplicity and power of portkeys. Would anyone suspect it? Yes, there were supposed to be boundaries and laws and regulations, but hadn't Voldemort overcame them easily before?

Time was running out.

Voldemort had taken Harry to the Dark Forest by portkey, as Harry approached the clearing he had not seen for months, he saw masked Death Eaters already ahead, waiting for them. Harry shivered. The clearing was now cold and covered in a thin frost; the first rays of silvery sunrise had shone through the trees and lit the frozen ground.

Ollivander! The idea his Harry with such force, he should have cared. But he didn't. He had always liked his scar before, but with what he realized before they left, its sting betrayed him. He didn't care anymore. There was nothing and no one left for him.

He had to be the missing Horcrux. The only question left was, did Voldemort know? Not that it mattered. The feelings of hopelessness suffocated him. If he managed to kill Voldemort, a piece of him would live on in hibernation in Harry, when Harry died, what then? Would his body be used again as a puppet by the Dark Lord?

Ollivander! His mind screamed again at the miserable and disheartened Harry. So what? Would Ollivander help him? Could he?

The moss, and ice, covered cabin was directly ahead of them. Harry glanced quickly at Voldemort, did he already know? Harry remembered how Regulus could not see it, but he was no longer with Regulus.

'Reveal it,' Voldemort said as they paused in front of the cabin.

Harry didn't move. But what was left to do… it was all over anyway…

The moments became pressured seconds.

'If you're waiting for the old Wand Maker to show up…' a Death Eater approached Harry and let Ollivander's lifeless body fall at his feet. He was still wearing the richly made robes; nothing was left under his tired face, unmistakably dead.

This destroyed any hope Harry had of escape. Everything became real. There truly was nothing left.

It will be over soon, perhaps it was the influence of the forest, his helplessness, or the feelings he had been left with after last seeing his friends. But Harry gave up. He slowly, cautiously, let the door to the building swing open, it glimmered for a moment, and Harry stood to the side as Voldemort entered. He had failed.

He waited for a moment before following, standing just inside the door. He saw it was the same. The scale, the blue fire, the silken veil fluttering in an unknown wind…

He had seen a veil like that before.

Feelings of something too weak to be hope but too strong to be fear bubbled within Harry. He neared it as Voldemort studied the scale. He stepped down to near it. He heard the veil's hiss, its whisper… someone's whisper.

'…remember… what was it for… remember… everything…'

Harry didn't move. He knew that voice. But… how?

'…Sirius?' Harry whispered.

There was no reply. Harry looked back, Voldemort was watching him. Of course he had seen, what did Harry expect?

'There's one last thing you need to do,' Voldemort said.

Harry was stronger now, he didn't know why, but he was, 'No,' he stepped away from the pit to level Voldemort, 'I won't help you anymore.'

'Harry, you forget, we had a deal,' Voldemort said quite simply, as though he expected this, 'an honorable Gryffindor going back on his word?'

Harry ignored him, 'I won't let you do this.'

'I was hoping…' Voldemort said, 'not to have to do this…'

A Death Eater entered the cabin on Voldemort's signal, he half-dragged, half-carried Ollivander's body… no… it wasn't Ollivander's body. This unconscious man was dressed in shabby robes. He fell hard on the floor; Harry could feel life in him as his head lolled towards Harry.

Lupin…

'Destroy the balance.'

Harry couldn't look away from Remus Lupin.

AN: sorry for the shortness. A cookie to everyone who reviewed and an extra for Potter and the Weasley for catching a reference. THANK YOU ALL!

REVIEW!