Chapter 30

So, this chapter sucked all the life energy out of me lol,

Also, I've got like 30 other stories saved on my laptop, and I've been trying to work on them a bit, and my artwork, but it's too much I actually can't keep up with my creative drive.

Anyways, enjoy!

12 Grimmauld Place

"How did I do?"

"Better. It took us many weeks but you're finally beginning to show some level of resistance. Now keep your head blank and empty, and let's have Draco try to break in." Regulus got up and pushed the blonde into the chair opposite to Harry.

"Nervous, Potter?" Draco smirked. "Have you got something to hide?"

"Let's just get this over with, Malfoy." Harry rolled his eyes. He wasn't happy about letting him do Legilimency on him, but this was Regulus' idea, and after spending a few weeks in one room with him, Harry knew that any fight he could put up against it, was futile.

"Legilimens." Draco began his attack on Harry's mind. Harry tried not to think about anything but he could feel Draco go through his head like Hermione went through her books.

It was hard to resist someone new, with Regulus Harry began to know what to expect, where he would attack, despite his often pattern change it was getting easier. Draco Malfoy however, approached his mind differently, and Harry needed to put all his focus into it.

"And?" Regulus asked.

"Pretty good, but it won't keep the Dark Lord away." Draco told him.

"No, it won't." Regulus admitted. "That's why Harry's next task is to think of one memory, and focus on it."

"You think he can select and use his memories as a shield?" Draco asked sceptically. It was a difficult skill and Potter's mind was a jelly.

"Because of this connection he has with him, Harry might not even be aware of the attack, he might not even feel him lurking around his head. So, we will aim for three to five memories he can switch between." Regulus turned to Harry.

"We don't know what he can do to your mind so you need to guard it at all times. The bracelet will protect you from him when you're asleep, but you're much more vulnerable when you're not wearing it, when you're awake. You have to be ready for everything and more." Regulus said.

Claudius gave Harry a dark object, a bracelet with druid runes on it. It used to belong to Morgana. She was a seer and used it to lock her mind from any incoming visions, in her sleep.

Harry was ordered to wear it every night to protect himself from Voldemort. But the bracelet was too dangerous to wear it all the time, so he had to take if off during the day and apply a numbing serum to the scar, to block the connection during the day. But, the serum couldn't protect him from Legilimency.

"How long did it take you to learn?" Harry asked Draco. He was getting tired of how long this was taking, despite the huge progress he made. Regulus was much better at this than Severus Snape was, but Harry wanted to learn faster.

"Don't compare my learning experience to yours, Potter. Regulus is a tough teacher with a lack of any measure of patience, but he's not cruel. I was taught Occlumency by Bellatrix. You can't begin to imagine what she did to me when she got a peak at some of my memories of Hermione." Draco said and left the room.

"Ah Harry, there you are!" Claudius exclaimed as Harry ran into him in the corridor.

"Mr. Greenfell, I didn't know you were coming Sir." Harry stopped in his tracks and waited, allowing Hermione's grandfather to come closer to him.

"I was just leaving; I only came to drop off some more numbing potion for you. Apply it three times a day as you've been doing so far, and don't forget to drink a lot of water. Some of the ingredients in it can dehydrate you." Claudius instructed with a kind smile. Harry came to really like Claudius, he didn't know what it's like to have a grandfather but with Claudius around he was beginning to get some idea.

"I will. Thank you, Sir." Harry smiled in gratitude, making Claudius chuckle.

"Well then, I best be going. It was good to see you my boy." He gently tapped Harry on the shoulder, as he turned to leave. Harry said his goodbyes and turned to go his way but suddenly a thought entered his mind.

"Mr Greenfell, can I ask you something?" Claudius stopped and turned around.

"Of course, what is it?" He asked, and Harry immediately went up to him.

"I've been thinking, you're good with the alchemy and potions and you know a lot of things about ancient, powerful objects. Would you, take a look at this?" Harry pulled out the snitch out of his pocket and opened it. He took out the stone and passed it to Hermione's grandfather.

"The Resurrection Stone?" Claudius furrowed his brows. "What do you need to know?"

"We don't really know what it can do, apart from…"

"Resurrecting the owner?"

"Well yes. And I was hoping maybe there's more to it, maybe we could use it better. Maybe it could even be split or multiplied?" Harry suggested.

"Alright, I will take a look at it for you. But let Regulus know you gave it to me." Claudius took the stone from Harry and slipped it into his inside pocket.

"I will Sir."

Claudius nodded his head at the boy and left the house. He got into the back seat of his car and asked his new, muggle driver to drive him home. Claudius preferred his elves to stay at the Manor for the time being. He knew they could take care of themselves but it was better to be safe than sorry.

It seemed that no matter what went on in the world, you could always trust the London traffic to be as busy as ever. Claudius looked through the window of the back seat to see the sky darken.

Odd, the weather forecast didn't say it would rain for the rest of the week.

Suddenly the sky went so dark the day seemed to turn into a night. Claudius clenched his fists at the sight of the Dark Mark. He turned to tell his driver to get out of the car and run, but it was too late.

Something landed with a thud on the top on his car and soon Claudius found himself pushed out of his seat, due to the impact of the spell that the car was hit with. Claudius was lying on the road between the unorderly line of destroyed and abandoned cars, with blood running down his face. He pushed himself up to look where his driver was, but he was blinded by the green light that came from the other side of the car.

"Avada Kedavra." He heard a minute later, before he felt something hit him hard on his back. But the initial pain went away soon, and Claudius could only feel the numbness fill his body.

"What just happened?" He heard a voice ask from behind him. His body refused to turn around, as if paralysed.

"That muggle reflected the killing curse."

"Let's take him to the Dark Lord"

Malfoy Manor

Claudius was being led down the gloomy corridors of a large house by three Death Eaters. He remained silent and observed the enemy move and interact with one another. He was brought into a large drawing room with a long table, and at its end sat the Dark Lord.

Claudius recognised this room. He saw it in the Scrying Fount when Regulus attended the meeting and kidnaped Draco.

"How most interesting." He heard Voldemort hiss, after a Death Eater reported to him what has happened. The distorted-faced wizard got up and walked, or rather slid down the length of the table to stand in front of Claudius. His movements matched the ones of his large snake. How fitting.

He had to admit, Voldemort had a presence. Claudius could almost smell the scent of the dark magic on him. How fascinating… One out of many pieces of Tom Riddle's soul stood before him. Claudius had to resist asking all the questions he wanted to ask the man. Could he feel the rest of his soul's pieces? What did it feel like when he was ripping it apart? Could he feel hunger and cold? Why did he do it this way? When has he made the first one? To a scientist, the concept of Horcruxes was truly fascinating, but it was also a piece of magic that was considered abomination even amongst the darkest of witches and wizards.

"Who do I have the honour with?" Claudius straightened up and asked. Dark wizard or not, Claudius was no ordinary muggle and he refused to be intimidated by a foolish wizard who has failed to kill a mere child on multiple occasions.

"I am Lord Voldemort." The wizard said in an intimidating tone, looking down at him.

"Lord Greenfell, 37th Earl of Arundel." Claudius extended his hand. Voldemort blinked.

Claudius used the moment and shook the Dark wizard's hanging hand while he was still baffled into a statue. Voldemort pulled his hand away and looked at it with such disgust, Claudius nearly rolled his eyes. His act was too fastidious with his act, considering he was a half muggle himself. A half blood in denial.

"On what business have I been brought here, Lord Voldemort?" He asked, and the wizard in front of him seemed to shake off the unfamiliar feeling that came with meeting Claudius Greenfell.

"It appears you're no ordinary muggle, . My men tell me you withstood a killing curse. How have you accomplished that? What are you?" Voldemort looked at him with the most infiltrating look ever, and Claudius could feel him try to get into his head, but thanks to certain Druidic traditions, that would never work.

"I must tell you I have no idea what you're talking about. I hit my head pretty hard when I fell, I must be hallucinating." Claudius made a show of touching his head in a dramatic and slightly exaggerated manner. "This is a large house, perhaps you would be so kind as to show me to a room when I could rest? Maybe then I could think more clearly."

"Certainly, there is plenty of space." Voldemort's mouth twitched and he turned to the closest Death Eater standing. "Yaxley, show to our most comfortable rooms." He ordered. Yaxley grabbed Claudius and dragged him out.

Few corridors later, Claudius found himself unceremoniously thrown in a cell.

12 Grimmauld Place

Regulus was onto something and he was keeping it from them all. Sirius was sure of it. He could tell from the way his brother was acting. He was too calm in the face of the 'storm' they were facing. Regulus always had something up his sleeve, but this time it had to be something big. And Sirius was going to investigate, even if it meant invading upon his brother's privacy.

He waited for Regulus to go downstairs for breakfast before sneaking out of his room and going to infiltrate his brother's hideout. Sirius grabbed the handle and pushed the door but it wouldn't open.

So, Regulus warded his room, hardly shocking… He was a runaway Death Eater who betrayed the Dark Lord, he had a right to be paranoid.

One spell after the other Sirius tried, but the door failed to budge. The handle even burned his hand, so he tried blasting it away but the door only revealed an engraved message;

Do Not Enter

Without the Express Permission of

Regulus Arcturus Black

"Regulus, you little douchebag..." Sirius muttered to himself and put his wand back in his robes. With a final glare at the most durable piece of timber he ever encountered, Sirius walked away defeated.

Regulus was sleep deprived, underfed and distracted.

Bellatrix haven't contacted him in weeks, and not for the lack of trying to contact her on his part but she just wouldn't respond and he could hardly waltz in to the Malfoy Manor and confront her about it. He wasn't worried about her of course, Bellatrix Lestrange was the safest out of everyone in the country right now.

Eventually, in his unreasonable desperation, he contacted Narcissa, but in their short exchange she only managed to tell him that things were heated over there and Voldemort was agitated with the lack of progress in his search for something very important.

She wasn't sure what it was he was looking for, but Regulus had his suspicions, which were only confirmed the day an attack on Ollivanders was splashed all over Daily Prophet. The Wandmaker was kidnapped and his shop destroyed.

He had to play his cards well, keep the Deathly Hallows safe and find the remaining Horcruxes faster. If they were right about the Hufflepuff's cup, it only left them with one more object to find.

Thinking about the most appropriate way to convince the most salvageable Death Eaters to change sides, Regulus poured Fire Whisky into his glass. He didn't miss the scornful look Hermione had sent at his drink as she placed a porcelain plate with pancakes covered in maple syrup, berries and strawberries, before him.

"Thank you love." He smiled charmingly at her, but he got the message.

He loved it about her, he loved that she was so different yet so similar in her upbringing. The way she could communicate her disapproval with one single glance, made him feel calm with the familiarity of such gesture, yet it in no way reminded him of his dreadful mother, who like most pureblood women was accustomed to such limited methods of expressing oneself. He used to hate it whenever his mother looked at him like that but when Hermione did it, he found some comfort in it.

Hermione stabbed her pancake with a fork and began to cut it up with a knife. Ron sat down next to Harry, who was sitting on Hermione's other side. He opened the newspaper and began to read in silence. The tension between Ronald and Regulus was still very much there, but the two kept out of each other's way.

"Anything joyous in there today, Cinnamon? Please share with the class." Regulus challenged the redhead as he laughed to himself.

"Last night the Death Eaters led a righteous crusade on the Muggle London and continued to move through the filthy muggle streets, causing havoc and destruction in defence of all Witches and Wizards. Demonstrating the undefeatable power of their cause, they got all the way up to the Camden Street, where they ran into trouble at the hands of the criminal resistance group; The Order of the Phoenix, which continues to defy the Ministry of Magic and rebel against the common good of the Wizarding World." Ron read out.

"I have never heard anything more absurd in my entire life." Hermione commented.

"You should have seen how they ran." Lupin smiled in amusement, recalling the events of last night.

"But I thought you were outnumbered?" Harry asked.

"We were, but they stood no chance against Fred and George's Wheezy Bombs of Doom, Dung-Blasting Frisbee and Fanged Twirling Twirls."

As per Regulus' advice, the Order focused purely on making the Death Eaters' job difficult in a hope to make Voldemort underestimate the Order, allowing them to continue looking for the Horcruxes right under his nose.

"It's all going well so far but we need to be careful." Draco spoke up as he was stirring three cups of tea. "The Order continues to embarrass the Death Eaters, and by extension mock You-Know-Who and his power. One of these days he will run out of patience and he will get back at us."

"Let's not worry about it for now." Regulus grabbed his glass and began to refill it.

Hermione saw Draco approach her and Harry with three levitating cups. He passed one cup to Harry, and took one for himself while the third one went to her.

"Black tea with lemon. Just how you like it." He winked at Hermione and went to sit on Regulus' other side.

"I don't think I can ever get used to this." Harry scratched his head. Seeing Malfoy act so friendly with Hermione was still the most peculiar sight of the past few months.

Draco used the few seconds Regulus was distracted, and he stole a strawberry off his plate, but Regulus noticed and smacked him on the back of his head in a playful manner.

"Next time I will cut your fingers off." He scolded the blonde, but Draco only rolled his eyes at him. Sirius walked into the kitchen with a distressed look on his face, and went to stand next to Regulus who didn't even acknowledge his presence.

"What are you hiding in that bloody room?" He asked, absolutely tired of fighting the door.

"Trust me, if I had to hide anything of importance I would not hide it in a place where anyone could access it." Regulus replied not looking up at him. Sirius huffed and went to sit next to Remus.

"Your room is hardly accessible to anyone." He exclaimed, still offended by the charmed door.

"Maybe, it's inaccessible to just you." Regulus suggested, making Harry and Ron snigger.

"What?"

"Fred and George are truly brilliant at what they do." Regulus smirked, looking up at his brother, who furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and turned to look at Harry and Ron for explanation.

"You have to ask the door nicely to let you in, if you try to use force you will never be able to enter. It took me a while to work it out." Ron admitted, and Sirius turned to look at his brother questioningly.

"They tried to prank me but it backfired."

"How did you not fall for it?" Fred asked, making everyone turn to look at him leaning against the opened door with Klaus standing next to him.

"I have the biggest prankster in Hogwarts's history for a brother. You gonna have to try harder than that." Regulus replied slowly.

"Why thank you."

"It's not a compliment." Regulus frowned at him, but Sirius only chuckled. Regulus went to take another sip of his Fire Whisky but it was suddenly gone from his hand.

"Careful there, we don't want a repeat of that night, do we?" Niklaus was standing over his head, smirking at him.

"Give it back."

"Don't." Hermione challenged, making Regulus look at her in surprise, before turning back to Klaus with a scowl.

"Alright, let me try again. Return my drink to me, this instant."

"I'm sorry but I can't watch you turn into a drunk." Klaus placed his hand on Regulus' shoulder.

"Excuse me?"

"It's alright, just let someone older help you."

"Older?"

"Yeah Regulus, why won't you let him help you?" Sirius asked with a mocking scowl and double blinks.

"Because I don't needhelp." Regulus growled.

"I thought that too." Said Klaus, moving to take a sip of Regulus' Fire Whiskey, but before he could, his entire body froze. Regulus blinked away the gold sparkles from his eyes as he got up and snatched his drink out of Klaus' hand.

"This is ridiculous, you might be older than me now but I babysat you when you were a baby. Barely 6 months old!" He told him before letting his body unfreeze.

"Well, then let me return the favour." Klaus grinned at him, but Regulus only gave him a look and sat back down. Klaus pulled up a chair and pushed in between Regulus and Hermione.

"Engagement looks good on you cousin, can't say the same for your fiancé." He said to Hermione.

"Klaus, not that don't love to see you but why are you here?" Regulus raised his eyebrow at him.

"I'm looking for my grandfather, is he here?" Niklaus made a show of looking around.

"I'm afraid he's not. We saw him briefly yesterday, he came to bring potions for Harry but he left just as quickly, why?" Remus replied. Klaus's face hosted some concern. It was unusual for Claudius to suddenly disappear like this.

"I see…"

"Klaus, what is it?"

"It's just… I can't find him anywhere, I've been to every place he could possibly be at but no one saw him after he left the Manor yesterday morning."

"That, reminds me, I ran into him on his way out and gave him the Resurrection Stone to experiment with." Harry added, making Regulus give him a look.

"Did he say where he was going?" Hermione asked Harry bit he shook his head.

"No, and I didn't ask."

"What time did he leave?" Sirius asked suddenly suspecting the worst…

"I'm not sure but… surely you don't think he was one of the attacked?" Harry clenches his teeth at the thought.

"Is there no fancy druid way to contact him?" Remus asked Regulus and Hermione.

"There is, but I'm sure he's fine." Regulus responded after a few seconds.

"How can you know that?"

"Harry has given him the Resurrection Stone."

"We should still try and find him." Hermione put her hand on Regulus' arm.

"Of course. But let's not worry about him in advance. Lord Claudius Greenfell will outlive us all."

Malfoy Manor

Few hours later, Claudius was dragged out of his cell and brought back into the dining room as Lord Voldemort was 'inviting him for dinner'. He was pushed into a chair on the other side of the long table, facing Voldemort.

Claudius couldn't help but notice that many seats were empty, as he later found out it was due to their 'mistakes' during the attack in which he was captured.

Throughout the dinner, Voldemort didn't speak to him. He ignored his presence completely and the few other wizards present kept sneaking glances at him but didn't dare to turn their heads to get a proper look.

They looked only twice. Once, to see his reaction when their Dark Lord tortured one of his Death Eaters with a Cruciatus Curse, to punish him for his especially poor performance. And when the Dark Lord finally addressed him.

"I hope your accommodation was satisfactory? Perhaps now after you've had your rest, there is anything you wish to tell me?" Voldemort hissed at him. Perhaps Claudius should have acted more scared, like a muggle should be. But what was there to fear?

"Regretfully, I must say it was inadequate and only discouraged me from trying to recall anything of importance." Claudius replied with a political smile.

Needless to say, the rest of that dinner didn't go down very well. Claudius again, landed in his cell after he was hit with a killing curse by Voldemort himself, and miraculously refused to die. He couldn't be any more grateful to Harry for giving him the stone.

Staying in the cell wasn't so bad. House elves brought him some food every now and then, and while Claudius couldn't actively use magic, he was very good at transforming anything into proper food with just a drop of one of his potions that he kept a small amount of, hidden in a secret inside pocket of his jacket. Underestimation was the real magic as the fools never checked him for any belongings. Not that they'd find the stone if they did check. It was very well hidden.

Occasional visits from Yaxley and Malfoy gave him all the entertainment he ever needed. They came to sneer at him but each time they ended up leaving either offended or angry.

Filthy muggle 1 - Snotty Purebloods 0

Greenfell Manor

"Well? Have you found him?" Aunt Amelia tackled the three the minute they entered the living room.

"He's safe, relatively." Regulus sent her a dismissive smile as Klaus and Hermione went to sit down, aching for some rest after exhausting day.

Hermione performed a locating charm and discovered her grandfather was at the Malfoy Manor, which raised a small panic amongst the Order.

Regulus and Klaus contacted Claudius by entering his mind and projecting Regulus' consciousness over like he did with Hermione when she was still at Hogwarts. Of course, Claudius assured him that everything was fine and that if he wanted, he could leave at any moment by simply calling Kiwi to take him from there, but there was something he wanted to do there still.

"Do what?" Asked distressed aunt Amelia.

"He wouldn't tell me, just that we shouldn't worry and that he will be fine." Regulus assured her.

"Well of course we shouldn't worry, if he dies we have Niklaus to replace him in his duties, now that he sorted himself out. And if he fails, you can pick it up once you and Hermione get married." Amelia took a sip of her tea. Regulus only sighted and looked to Hermione who just shook her head at him.

Aunt Amelia was truly one of a kind!

Malfoy Manor

Claudius was quietly enjoying his omelette that Kiwi brought him along with a pain potion he asked for after the tortures were getting too much.

Then the door to his cell opened and a no longer stoic-looking Lucius Malfoy was thrown in. He looked tired and in pain as he struggled to stand up. Claudius tilted his head to the side as he watched him drag his feet to sit against the wall ad have something to lean on. He was most definitely Cruciatused upon, but the question was why?

Perhaps the Order was becoming more effective he and Regulus initially assumed?

"Hello Mr. Malfoy, what brings you here?" Claudius asked the minute the door was closed and Lucius had his few moments to catch a breath and smooth his dishevelled robes.

"Do not speak to me." Draco's father scowled, making Claudius chuckle to himself.

5h Later

"How can you be so calm?" Lucius asked after several hours of observing him. It was the middle of the night but neither could sleep.

"I suppose I'm above the silly, working-class feelings, such as panic and fear." Claudius replied into the darkness. He was sitting under a window so the moonlight was shining right onto him but Lucius was hidden away, in a corner, as if his humiliation and shame couldn't reach him there.

"Why are you still here?" Came a quiet question barely a few minutes later.

"I think it's quite clear as to why I'm here in this cell, Mr. Malfoy. But what about you? This is your home, not so?"

Lucius sighted and grimaced, turning his face the other way. "I meant, why are you still here, alive."

"My survival instincts must be very strong." Claudius repressed a smile when a mocking snigger escaped Lucius' lips, that he disguised as a small cough.

"Hardly."

This was as far as the conversation went because that very morning Lucius Malfoy was let out, only to be thrown back in barely two weeks later…

"Back so soon?" Claudius asked, not bothering to hide his amusement.

"Shut up." Lucius seethed.

"At least you are still alive." Claudius cleared his throat. In the past three weeks he spent at the Malfoy Manor, he couldn't help but notice Voldemort was becoming more and more impatient with the Order and his Death Eaters, effectively switching from tortures to a murder.

"He won't kill me; he needs me to be able to stay here, at the Manor." Lucius was standing up straight, with his arms folded.

"Sounds like a caring leader." Claudius commented but Lucius ignored him. Claudius took it as an invitation to make a bold inquiry about a touchy topic.

"If I may, a respectable man of your age, and good fortune, should have a family, yet while upstairs I noticed their absence. Are they not here?"

Claudius was brought upstairs many times, mainly to be experimented upon as Voldemort gave up on trying to kill him or finding out what he is, for the sake of testing the darkest curses he could find, on him. Of course, he would never know that Kiwi provided Claudius with all sorts of cures and whatnot, and Claudius found it an education experience too.

"Mind your business muggle." Lucius sneered at his impertinence.

"Your sharp words don't harm me Mr. Malfoy, but it looks like neither of us is getting out of here anytime soon. Perhaps the time would go faster if we occupy ourselves with a pleasant conversation?"

"I have nothing to talk about with the likes of you" Lucius sneered, making Claudius chuckle.

Later on he found out from Kiwi that Lucius might have seen his son alive, running with the Order and it shook him pretty hard.

Again, Lucius wasn't very keen to talk the second time either but thankfully the third time was the charm.

"This is ridiculous! This is my house, how dare he throw me in a cell! It wasn't even my fault this time!" Lucius kept pacing for two hours after his prompt return to the cell, going on and on about the unfairness and the audacity, until he finally got tired and Claudius was able to get a word in.

"So, what went wrong this time?" He simply asked, looking thought the newest release of the Prophet that Kiwi brought him earlier that day.

"My, my son was there, he shielded the little mudblood girlfriend of Potters." Lucius told him, thinking it wouldn't mean anything to this weird muggle man.

"Hermione?" Claudius blinked. What was she doing out there?

"You know of her?" Lucius asked confused, and Claudius could easily lie and say he read it in the magical newspaper he was reading and nobody questioned it, but he chose to take the brave step towards making Lucius Malfoy his ally, and be truthful.

"She is my granddaughter, but tell me does the Dark Lord or anyone else know that Draco is alive?" He asked quietly, looking into the shocked grey eyes that were staring at him as if seeing him for the first time.

"How do you… I knew you couldn't be just an ordinary muggle." Lucius sneered.

"Focus, Malfoy! Has anyone else seen him or not?"

"No, only I did." Lucius drawled.

"Good. And will it stay that way?"

"Are you seriously asking if I would endanger my only child's life? I only just found out he was actually alive all this time I believed he was dead!"

"I spent only a number of hours with you in this cell but it couldn't be any clearer to me, after who young Draco gets his temper. Not that I ever suspected Narcissa of having anything less than impeccable manners. The Blacks are above showing human emotions to strangers, can't say the same for Malfoys." Lucius' eyes grew wide.

"Just who exactly are you?"

And the plot thickens…

Hi, sorry for being gone for ages again! I've been busy, but I guess that excuse got old now.

I've been to London last weekend, and managed to go to the Warner Bros studio - The Making of Harry Potter, and it was honestly the best thing I ever saw, which fair game, I am obsessed with set design anyway, so it was like a double joy seeing how the films were made and all the sets and props, so if you're ever in London, I strongly recommend going! But beware of the shops because the ticket cost me £47 and I've spent like £80 for just sweets, a cup, shirts etc. But it was honestly great fun!

Hope you liked this chapter! Until next time!