I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC
Hello guys, Badger here. I'm back. I hope you are all well. I have a treat for you. Today, I have a much longer chapter for you today. Most chapters are 1000 to 2000 words long, but this is double the length. It is one of the longest chapters I have done for this story. Originally, the draft chapter was longer, being close to 6000 words, but cut out several parts because of repetition, or it involved story plots that never made it into the final cut of the story so far, and so wouldn't make sense to include it. Despite a lot of content removed, I'm sure you'll enjoy what I have for you today.
Before you go. The results on the poll are nearly neck and neck. However, I will be ending it soon, so if you want to vote, do it now, before it is removed. That is all for now. Read on, I hope you enjoy and I will see you at the end.
Chapter 73
Operation: save Sirius
Harry saw the same corridor, he had seen a lot recently. The same corridor that led to the same door. However, this time the door opened and he was led inside. There was a large dark room, full of rows and rows of blue orbs that illuminated the area. Sirius was there, kneeling in the center of the aisle. Voldemort was circling him, smiling darkly as Sirius twitched and yelled in pain, as Voldemort kept his wand pointed his way. After a few seconds, Voldemort lifted the curse.
"Oh Sirius, dear Sirius" Voldemort said, in a patronising tone "You WILL tell me the information I require"
Sirius said nothing. He just remained kneeling on the ground, glaring at Voldemort, ignoring the small shaking his body and the tears that were pricking the corners of his eyes. After a second, Sirius then spat on the Dark Lord. Voldemort wiped the spit off of himself, giving Sirius a furious look. He pointed his wand at Sirius and used the Cruciatus Curse, once more. Sirius fell on his back, against the floor as he began to scream and thrash around, as the pain from the curse shot through his entire body. Voldemort let out a maniacal laugh, as he watched Sirius. A laugh that echoed across the room, as Harry saw the image of a sign reading 97.
"Sirius!" Harry yelled, as he shot up, finding himself in the Great Hall
Everyone's attention turned to him, as they looked up from their plates, startled by Harry's sudden cries. James quickly grabbed Harry's arm and led him out of the Great Hall, away from prying eyes and eavesdroppers.
"Okay, explain what happened in there" He said, a decent distance away
Harry was about to respond, before he took notice of Daphne, Fred, George, Ginny, Susan, Luna, and Neville rushed over to them both. It was obvious, by the looks on their faces, that they were worried about Harry. James didn't even glance at them. He kept his gaze on Harry, wanting answers.
"Well?" He asked
"I…I saw Sirius" Harry replied, getting more and more flustered "He was…somewhere in the Ministry…Voldemort was torturing him, wanting information, but he refused…I…I…he needs my help!"
"Harry, calm down!" James exclaimed, grabbing his shoulders, whilst Susan held him gently in her arms "Look, you have the mirror, call him up…what you saw might just be a fake lure to wherever Voldemort wants you to go"
Harry thought about it for a second and nodded, calming down for a moment. He took the mirror out and called for Sirius. He began to panic again when several moments passed and Sirius still hadn't answered. Harry said his name several teams but not once did Sirius answer. The mirror continued to burn, as it waited for the other mirror to answer the call.
"He's not answering!" Harry panicked "I'm going to go and rescue him"
"Harry, no!" James stopped him from moving
"He's my family!" Harry yelled "I'm going to save him!"
"Harry, calm down" Susan said, soothingly "I think what James meant is that you're not going alone…we are going with you"
"No, you could get hurt or killed…" Harry tried to explain, but was cut off
"Little Harrikiens" Fred said
"There is no chance that you will go alone" George added
"We are going with you" The three Weasleys finished in unison
"They are right" Neville spoke up "We are coming with you…besides if you went alone and got yourself injured or killed then Susan…and James will raise you back from the dead, just to kill you again"
Harry wanted to argue and protest, but sighed when he saw the looks on all their faces. None of them were going to stand back and let him go alone. And he knew it. Neville was also accurate about James. He knew his brother well enough that James would resurrect him, just to kill him again. But Susan. She wouldn't do that. Right? Seeing Harry's protests die out, James called out for Jinx, whilst Harry called for Dobby.
"Master Harry calls for Dobby?" Dobby asked
"Kind Master summoned Jinx?" Jinx bowed
"Jinx, Dobby, we need you to take us all to the Ministry quickly" James replied "We believe Sirius might be in danger and we need to rescue him"
Jinx and Dobby nodded, wasting no time. Jinx took half of the group, whilst Dobby took the other half who disappeared from the Hogwarts corridor, with a pop. Unbeknownst to the group, Snape had been eavesdropping from afar. He heard the entire thing. As soon as they disappeared, he immediatley rushed to find Dumbledore, to inform him about what happened.
…
The group arrived in the Ministry Atrium. What unsettled most of the group was how empty and quiet the place was. Even at this time of day, there were always workers and Aurors wandering around. Someone should be here, but there was no one. Something didn't feel right. James looked around slightly, before telling Jinx and Dobby to leave for now, until they were called. Nodding, the two elves disappeared. James then turned to Harry.
"Where to Harry?" He asked
Harry turned on the spot several times, looking down every single corridor around them, as if he was looking for something. When he faced a corridor, with several branching paths, he told the others to follow them as he made his way down it. The black and dark green of the corridors gave an eerie feeling, as he saw a familiar door. He, and the others, could feel negative energy coming from it. But that didn't stop them from approaching. If Sirius was here, he needed help. Removing their wands, Harry opened the door, to reveal the room he had seen earlier. It seemed to go on further, in every direction, as they were dozens of shelves, possibly one hundred foot high, with each shelf full of hundreds of blue orbs.
"What is this place?" Ginny asked
"The Department of Mysteries" Susan replied, causing all to look at her "My Auntie told me that not many people in the Ministry know about it…almost no one knows what exactly is kept in here, though there are known to be prophecies kept in here"
"Those are real?" Neville asked
"Oh yes" Luna spoke up, in her dreamy tone "They don't happen all the time and are often vague and cryptic"
"But, why would Voldemort be holding Sirius hostage here?" Daphne asked
"I don't know, but he has to be here somewhere" Harry muttered, before he walked down the middle aisle
The rest of the group followed Harry further into the room. The door became smaller to the point you couldn't see it, but Harry's attention wasn't on people or anything around him. He kept his attention on the signs that read the aisle number, as he got further and further to the sign he saw in the vision. After several minutes of walking, Harry eventually came up to row 97, like he saw. There was just one problem. Neither Sirius or Voldemort were here. Harry was standing in the spot Sirius had been kneeling. Confused, he looked to the rest of the group, who was standing a few feet away, looking around.
"He should be here" Harry said, feeling a little frustrated and worried
The rest of the group were looking up and down the aisles and rows around them, as a chill filled the air.
"James" Daphne whispered
"I know" James replied "Something about this doesn't feel right"
"But what is going on!" Harry demanded
"Harry" Neville spoke up, a little nervously, as he looked at one of the shelves "There is something here"
"What is it?" Harry asked
"I don't know…but it has your name on it" Neville replied
Harry went to where Neville was looking and found a small blue orb sitting on a small stand. There was a tag on it, which read: S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D…Dark Lord and [?] Harry Potter. Confused, Harry picked up the blue orb, hesitantly, where his ears were assaulted by a deep raspy voice, and he saw images on the orb itself.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those who have thrice defied him, Born as the seventh month dies…And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, But he will have the power the Dark Lord knows not…And either must die at the hands of the other, for neither can live, whilst the other survives…The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies"
Harry felt a little confused about what he just heard. However, before he could do anything, a silky smooth voice spoke up.
"Well done Potter" A cloaked figure, in a mask said, as he stepped out of the shadows "You have done just as we needed, now if you would so kind, to hand it to me"
The cloaked figure, with a wave of his wand, removed his mask to reveal Lucius Malfoy, who looked ten times better then he had done a few months ago.
"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked, as the group huddled close together
"Oh, dear boy, he was never here" Lucius smirked "You were needed here and the only way to get you was to lure you, with the possibility of someone you love in danger…now hand over the prophecy, the Dark Lord has gone to great lengths to make sure you found it"
"Don't take a step closer or I'll smash it" Harry said, as Lucius had took a few steps forward "I'm sure your Master won't appreciate losing whatever this is"
A loud maniacal laugh rang across the room. A laugh that chilled Neville to the bone.
"Ooh look" A woman said, in a childlike tone, as she stepped from the shadows "He knows how to play! We love to play! Itty, bitty, baby….Potter!"
The woman removed her mask, to reveal Bellatrix LeStrange, a crazed look on her face.
"Bellatrix LeStrange" Neville said, unsure on what to say
"Neville wasn't it?" Bellatrix asked, before she sneered "How's mum and dad?"
"Better now, they are going to be avenged" Neville growled
Neville went to raise his wand and attack, but was stopped by James, who restrained him. This caused another person to laugh out loud. A laugh which made James almost let go of Neville, as the person stepped out of the shadows.
"I like him, he has a fire in his heart" His uncle said, standing next to Lucius "Such a fire could prove useful for us"
"I should have known you would be here" James growled "It shouldn't surprise me, with you being Voldemort's new squeeze"
His uncle remained quiet for a moment, a smile on his face, though there was a cold, furious look in his eyes as he looked at his nephew.
"Oh, don't worry" His uncle said "Me and Barty are mainly here, to make sure Lucius and Pettigrew aren't here to fuck up"
"Pettigrew is here?" Harry growled
"Most of us are" Lucius replied, bringing the attention back to him "You are vastly outnumbered"
All around them, people started emerging from the darkness. There must have been almost thirty of them. Some wore masks, others didn't. Everyone in the small group that was the Hogwarts Institution, turned to one of the Death Eaters, their wand trained on them. Harry looked at the predicament they were in, before he looked back at the long haired blonde.
"Why go through all this trouble?" He asked "Couldn't you take it yourself?"
"Only those named on the Prophecy are able to take the Prophecy from the shelf itself, who better then to find the prophecy, then the Boy-Who-Lived, himself?"
"But what is so important about this prophecy?" Harry asked, generally curious, as to why Voldemort went through all this trouble
"You don't know?" Lucius asked, tilting his head "Dumbledore never told you the importance of the prophecy and why Voldemort came after you all those years ago?"
"No" Harry said "Dumbledore likes to keep secrets"
"If you give it to me, I can tell you everything" Lucius said soothingly, stepping closer, holding out his hand "I can tell you why the Dark Lord is after you and I can help you bring your parents back, if you so desired"
Lucius felt like he had his opportunity, when he saw a vulnerable and unsure look on Harry's face, as he fondled the orb in his hand, debating on what to do.
"I have waited for 14 years…" His voice trailed off
"I know Harry" Lucius said softly "I know"
Harry's expression then became serious, as it darkened.
"But I think I can wait a while longer" He said, raising his wand "NOW, DIFFINDO!"
Lucius quickly dodged, but the spell did clip his arm slightly, causing a small cut and a small trail of blood to drip to the floor. Immediatley, all other Death Eaters got involved. Before they could do anything, the members of Hogwarts Institution fired spells at those around them. Whilst some Death Eaters were hit and went flying back into the shadows, most quickly apparated away.
"Spread out!" Harry yelled, keeping a tight grip on the orb in this hand.
He wasn't sure what this prophecy was. It must have been important, if Voldemort was after it. Not to mention it had his own name written on the tag. If they got out of this alive, Harry was going to confront Dumbledore about this. From what Lucius said, Dumbledore knew about it too and not once, mentioned it too him. Dumbledore had some explaining to do. As the others spread out, Harry was confronted by Lucius and another Death Eater. They fired stunners and banishing hexes at him. They were easy to dodge, thanks to his training and fired piercing curses in response.
Lucius apparated away again, avoiding the spell, but the other wasn't so lucky. The spell went through his chest and into his heart, with a burst of blood and he crumpled to the ground dead. Harry may be wrong but, from the spells the two used, they weren't trying to kill him. Not yet at least. Shaking his head, Harry ran down another aisle, choosing to keep on the move and not stay in one spot. He was sure he saw Pettigrew nearby and tried looking for him. That rat was going to die today. Further down the room, James and the Twins stood side by side, also keeping on the move and using the shelves as cover. The Twins were fighting fiercely, back to back, as they kept the Death Eaters at bay. Whilst they didn't kill the Death Eaters, they were able to force them back, or disarm them with a well placed cutting curse to their wand hand. James, on the other hand, made sure every Death Eater he came across wouldn't get out of here alive. James found himself in a duel with Antonin Dolohov, who was quite the duellist.
Making sure to put distance between himself and the Twins, so they weren't caught in the crossfire, James jumped behind a shelf to avoid a Cruciatus curse. Seeing an opportunity, James fired a banishing hex on the shelf, sending all the orbs in front of him at Dolohov, who frantically avoided and blasted any orbs apart that got too close. This was all James needed and removed Dolohov's wand hand with a cutting curse, now that he was distracted. Dolohov barely had time to react before James removed his head from his shoulders with a second cutting curse. As Dolohov's head bounced along the floor, James heard that familiar laugh.
"Nice one, dear nephew" His uncle said "I never really liked that man…"
James turned and immediatley dropped to the ground to avoid a killing curse. He looked up, to see his uncle smirking at him, the tip of his wand glowing a sickly green. Another killing curse ready and waiting.
"Now how about a real fight?" He asked, before the two engaged in a duel
Neville and Ginny stood side by side, as they engaged in fights against Death Eaters. Neville used a mix of stunners and spells he learnt during Hogwarts Institution Sessions, like Cutting Curses, Blasting Hexes and even Bone Crushers, whilst Ginny used a variety of spells that had been taught during the Hogwarts Institution Sessions, which were a mix of light and grey. Neville stopped, and shook in anger, when he heard the maniacal laugh and saw the woman who ruined his life, slowly moving towards them, her heels clicking on the ground, as she twirled her wand in her hand.
"Ooh, look, it's little Longbottom" She said, in a childish voice, before laughing uncontrollably
Neville growled, before firing a bone crusher at her. Bellatrix did a small twirl, like that of a ballerina, as she swatted the spell away. Neville continued firing spells at her, to which she does danced her way around them, taunting Neville every chance she got, making Neville more and more angry. Ginny, who could see the fight going on, as she defended herself against other Death Eaters, could tell that Bellatrix was merely toying with Neville. She was a wild animal playing with its food, before she chose to strike. It wasn't long until that happened, where Bellatrix fired a cutting curse at Neville at lightning speeds. Ginny reacted quickly reacted quickly, using a small spell to push Neville out the way. However, the spell clipped his ear slightly as it passed, making Neville yell out for a moment, at the pain he felt. He heard Bellatrix's maniacal laugh once more. Ignoring the blood trickling down the side of his face, he looked up to see she was no longer standing there, making him punch the ground in rage.
Near the center of the room, Luna, Daphne and Susan were together, holding their own, against any that came after them. It was difficult to see properly as the room was quite dark, only illuminated by the glow of the orbs on the shelves. They kept on the move, as several Death Eaters tried surrounding them, as they fired a barrage of dark curses at them, which they were barely able to block or avoid. As everyone defended themselves against the Death Eaters, they found themselves grouped together once more, in one of the many aisles of the room. In the distance, they saw a Death Eater flying towards them, covered in a cloud of smoke. Ginny immediatley raised her wand and yelled:
"Reducto!"
Her spell impacted the Death Eater, causing a blinding flash of light to cover the entire room. When the light died out, the shelves began collapsing, the orbs falling and crashing to the ground.
"Run!" Harry yelled
None of them wasted any time in turning and running down the aisle, as the shelves around them came crashing down, the orbs smashing in a cloud of blue smoke, that filled the air. The group kept running, until they saw a door and ran towards it, where they were able to make it through, before they could be crushed by the shelves. Harry panted slightly, as he looked at the prophecy in his hand, before he heard whispers around him. He looked up to find that they were in a room filled with rocks and stones where, in the center, stood a large stone arch, with a ghostly ripple in the center. It seemed to be where the whispers were coming from.
"What is it?" Fred asked, as the group cautiously approached
"I don't know" Harry replied "But what about the voices?"
"There are no voices Harry" Daphne said, looking at Harry in confusion
"I can hear them too" Luna said
"Same here" James added, his eyes narrowing
Harry turned to the others, but before he could say anything, they were surrounded by thick black clouds, which swirled all around them, causing many to fire spells in retaliation, hoping to hit something. When the clouds cleared, Harry found himself standing alone in front of the arch. He looked around to see his friends being held by Death Eaters around the room. He didn't know who most were, but could tell a few. Neville was being held by Bellatrix. Fred…or George…was being held by Pettigrew, and the Twin looked quite disgusted about it. Luna was being held by Barty Crouch Jr and James was being held by his uncle.
"This is the closest me and you have been" Michael said, his wand pressed against James' throat
"Don't get used to it" James growled
Harry heard someone behind him and turned to see Lucius Malfoy, holding his hand out.
"No more games Potter" He said "Hand over the prophecy, or you friends will die"
In the corners of his eyes, Harry could see that a small green glow appeared on the tip of a few Death Eaters wands, proving his point. His grip on the prophecy tightened slightly, before it relaxed, when he couldn't see another option available to him. Sighing in defeat, Harry gave Lucius the prophecy, who smiled gleefully as he held it in his hands. It was that moment when there was a cracking noise behind him. Lucius turned and was shocked to see Sirius standing behind him.
"Get away from my godson" He said, before punching Lucius to the ground, where the prophecy smashed against the stone floor
All over the room, with cracks of sound and clouds of white smoke, several people appeared, who Harry assumed were Aurors and Ministry Workers as Tonks, Remus and Moody were there, which caused the Death Eaters to let go of their hostages and began scattering across the room, fighting the newcomers. Bellatrix, in particular, enjoyed the fight, as she fought several members at once. When the Aurors weren't fighting the Death Eaters, they were helping Harry's friends, by receiving their wands, and making sure they got to safety and to receive any medical attention they might need. However they refused, choosing to stay and fight then to leave.
"Look Harry" Sirius said "You need to get out of here, the others will take you to Hogwarts, we'll be there soon"
"No Sirius" Harry replied "I'm not leaving you"
Sirius had no chance to reply, when Lucius tried attacking, now that he was back on his feet and this time he was joined by, surprisingly enough, Pettigrew. Sirius and Harry immediatley fought back, Sirius going up against Lucius, whilst Harry went up against Pettigrew. Across the room, Neville tried fighting against the Death Eaters, but was getting slowly but surely overwhelmed. He was eventually knocked to the ground, by a blasting hex that hit the ground in front of him. He looked up and, through his blurred vision, he saw Barty Crouch Jr standing above him, smiling. Before anything could happen, however, a jet of blood spurted from the center of his chest and he fell to the ground, with a dull thud. James then approached, his wand in hand and helped Neville up.
"Thanks" Neville panted
"Don't mention it" James replied "Let's finish this quickly"
Back at the arch, Sirius and Harry were still fighting against Lucius and Pettigrew, with the former winning against the latter. Sirius and Remus always said Pettigrew was a useless excuse of a wizard and this was being proven here, as Harry bested Pettigrew, by removing his head from his shoulders.
"Well done son!" Sirius cheered
Harry looked at Sirius in shock, at what he said. Sirius however, took no notice, as he continued his fight against Lucius. Within seconds, he disarmed the blonde, before firing a banishing hex, which sent Lucius flying into a wall, going unconscious. Sirius and Harry smiled and laughed with one another, sharing a hug, before Harry heard the words he dreaded the most:
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Sirius immediatley pushed Harry away, where he was then hit by a green light. Harry looked behind him, to see Bellatrix smirking darkly. He turned back to Sirius and watched, in horror, as the light left Sirius' eyes and he fell back into the arch, where he faded away, disappearing into nothing.
…
So...ummm...I'm sorry, no please put down the pitchforks! Please let me explain!
I didn't want to kill Sirius. Out of all the characters I had thoughts about killing off, he was one I was always on the fence about. I was constantly going back and forth, deciding if he should be. However, I chose to do so, as I felt like it would be important for Harry's further character development and a small sub plot I had planned to happen further on in the story. I felt like the subplot I had planned would be more impactful with Sirius being dead. I hope you can forgive me.
But hey, Barty Jr and Pettigrew are dead. That at least is good right?
As I said, this chapter was originally longer, as it involved a larger fight, in more areas of the Ministry. I'm sure book fans will remember the brain room and time room. They were originally in the chapter, which is why it was so long. However these were cut, as I lot of it was repeating things I written the chapter, so cut the sections out completely. Plus, Blaise Zabini and Ron Weasley were in the chapter and were cut. Blaise was cut because he was introduced and a part of the group at the start of the story and Ron was cut, because I have a new plan for his character and wanted to save it for that moment, so he was removed to.
Now, you probably don't want to talk about it, but we now come to:
QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER - Which version of Sirius' death do you think was more impactful, the books where he was hit with a stunner and fell into the Veil of Death, or the movie where he was hit with the Killing Curse and fell into the Veil of Death [Leave your answers in the review section, along with your death threats]
For me, Sirius' death was more impactful in the movie, because of the music and Harry screaming, but they removed the audio, so you can't actually hear his yells.
That's all for now. I'm sure you will leave death threats and many will probably unfollow the story, but I will [hopefully] see you next time.
Badger out.
