Disclaimer:Harry Potter and all involved is the property of JK Rowling & Buffy the Vampire Slayer et al belongs to Joss Whedon. As all Buffy fans may know, 'Pain' is by Four Star Mary… Dingoes Ate My Baby used to play their songs!
A.N.I'm sorry this has been so late. Life stuff. Lot of requests/guesses of Spike being the culprit from last chapter. That was funny, because I had already written that as one possibility, but then I decided I wanted to save Spike-ness for later. Hope nobody is too disappointed. Love all reviewers! XX00
Reviewers:
Sonofgloin-No, somehow I don't think it was Padfoot's harem who kidnapped Dawn lol. And I'm glad you liked the Hagrid's front door scene- it was my favourite too. And thankyou for the disturbingly funny image of Dawn having a litter of puppies to Sirius… mwah
Saxifrage-No, you're right, the "voice" wasn't old Voldie, but it was someone sort of familiar… not as familiar as many people would've liked it to be… though I wish I had used your 'pissed off black haired lesbian' idea now… And the dreams will go further, I can promise you that, just not thins chapter (it got so long I had to cut it in half as it was!) I tried my hand at the poem thing, but I'm not 100 satisfied with it, I'll tell you now. I just couldn't get the ending the way I wanted it. if you come up with something better, let me know? XX00
Victoria87-Not quite, but very, very close guess!
Brownies-I'm sorry to leave you incoherent for so long! I really did think I'd be updating much sooner than this. Can I make a strange request? If I ask nicely, will you please, please add the 'Are Yummy' bit back into our screen name. It was just cool!
Damia-Glad you're still enjoying! And you may or may not have noticed, there is a lot of interest in bringing Spike into the story. I had actually decided against it, but I've been swayed. Now I'm just biding my time so I can bring him in with a bang when nobody's expecting it!
Kavi Leighanna-Thank you so much for all your praise. I'm really flattered & honoured you value my work so much. I hope you'll keep reading. I do try to keep it original, and I rely on my wonderful reviewers to let me know if I'm still on track. Sorry it took so long to update.
Lizagirl-Don't worry, I'm a sucker for clichéd happy endings too. But I'm going to do my best to keep this little cliché as unclichéd as possible, if that makes sense!
Eyexcandy-You're just a bit sadistic you know? Yes, you're right about who's behind her being all locked up, but most people don't wish Sirius pain and heartache over missing Dawn… and weren't you on my case a couple of weeks ago about torturing characters, anyway? LOL XX00
Sammi89-LOL no it's not Dawn's year so far… maybe her luck will change. Maybe I'll get out of this angst riff! Sorry this update was a million times longer coming than the last.
Inwe Tasartir-I'm sorry- I stopped there. And I did it again.
Maleficus Lupinus-I updated as quick as I could- sorry to leave you hyperventilating so long!
Pomegranate Queen-Yay- a saner review! Although I like the insane ones too. They're always fun to read. I don't know about Dawn and Sirius getting back together. Although it is obvious they still care, Dawn hurt Sirius a lot and he's hurting her a lot now with how he's, er, attempting to get over her. Some things are hard to forgive and forget. And as for the cage, I wrote the capture without it, and it just didn't seem as caught-y without her being physically locked up. BTW- have I mentioned I love being spoiled by the two review thing? Thanks.
Luckyshamrock-I'm practicing the Remus dance. Great exercise. I love Remus & angst too (as you may have noticed). XX
The Lady Morgaine-I'm evil for leaving you with an evil cliffy, I know. But it was sadistically fun, so I'd probably do it again in a heartbeat. Glad you liked the chapter and Myrtle as a semi-human behaving ghost.
Allen Pitt-I have to admit, I cracked up when I read "Peaches says hi". I did go down that road, but as you've mentioned before yourself, there is a great danger of Dawn getting overfamiliar with someone she doesn't truly see the danger in, and ending up real dead real quick, so I came back and tried a different path. And you just may get what you want with Dawn's mini-reunion. I've got it all planned in my head, and like many other things in this story, it's just waiting for the right time to strike. I've also fairly well decided where & when I will diverge from canon, but that's a different story. Specifically, a sequel. I'm just hoping everybody doesn't get sick of me before then! :-)
Phoenix83ad-I'm really glad you're loving the way things are playing out. I do agree with the 'too happy is too boring' philosophy, and while it's wonderful for characters to have happiness in their lives, there's got to be balances and in betweens. I know Sirius deserves a-slappin', but he's confused and hurting & face it- it's not like he's ever had a real family to teach him more effective ways to deal with emotions. And he's in no danger of ever being seen as invisible, so you're right about him not understanding Dawn's predicament at all. Plus I think he thinks he's having fun LOL. Your possible candidates for the kidnapping had me curious & occasionally giggling (random demon) & even wondering 'what if…?' but I think we'll got for what's behind door number one. Will try not to be so long updating next time!
Bumblebee-I knew I was a cruel temptress with that cliffy, but thank you very much for the 'great writer'. I like hearing that. Hope the cliff-hanger didn't really kill you.
Bluegummiebear7-Sorry I took so long!
Elle Blessingway-Well, I did plan on updating very soon, it just didn't pan out that way. Sorry- stupid real life. Have I really been working on this for almost a year? My God, it doesn't register as that long in my head… it's just sort of become another whole aspect of my life. Home, work, uni, friends, fic… Scary. Please, feel free to brown-nose as much as you like. I've said it before & I'll say it again- I'm a review whore and I can't get enough of brownnosing reviews LOL. Cheerio! (I make fun of everyone, including British people…)
Babytigercub15-sorry to make you wait so long, I'm glad you're enjoying this.
Ashes-I'm starting to wish it was Spike, I've had so much enthusiasm shown for him. Oh well, I'm saving him for later. (It's a shameless ploy to keep readers dangling on hopes & promises.) It's nice to hear that you follow my work, and I'm really glad you decided to leave a review this time. I love reviews.
Brandyllyn-Wow- another Ilfirin Meleth reader crossing over? Cool, and thanks so much for being so interested in my work. And no, I don't have a beta. It's that whole thing where I start with the best of intentions each time I type to get it all nice, but then as it gets closer to the end & posting time, I'm all excited and in a rush to post. So thinks like proof-reading suffer. I have way too much faith in spell-check. I try to keep typos to a minimum, but a few slip through my net I guess. Good luck with your own work (I find flattery for reviewers works wonders in creating a fan base LOL)
Catgirl Elf Princess-Sorry I took so long to update… I keep saying that… I should've had a sickie from work one day & just typed by the sounds of it!
Hmm/ umm again-The Buffyverse timeline goes like this- Darla was sired by the Master in 1609, she sired Angel in Galway in 1753, Angel sired Drusilla in London in 1860, and Drusilla sired Spike last of all in London (again) in 1880. I scare myself with how much useless information my head can retain… :-)
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Pain
"Wh-what do you want with me?" Dawn stammered.
She'd backed into the far corner of her cage, staring around her with rising panic. She was locked up in a small cottage with only one door. There were three windows, but heavy drapes blocked the outside world.
There were seven men in the room, some standing as posted guards and some gathered around Dawn's cage as though she was an attraction at a zoo. Their robes were black and white face masks leered at her from under the drawn hoods: these were Voldemort's Death Eaters.
"We want to torture you, of course," the one in the middle, whom Dawn assumed to be the leader, said as he twirled his wand threateningly.
Dawn shrank further back until the metal bars were pressing into her skin. The other Death Eaters jeered at her.
"You don't want that, do you?" the lead Death Eater said softly, his change of tack only setting Dawn's nerves even more on edge. "No… you don't. You can save yourself, you know. All you have to do is tell me everything I want to know and it will be ok."
Though she was shaking slightly, Dawn glared. "I'm not telling you anything," she hissed.
One of the other Death Eaters pulled out his wand and yelled something. Dawn screamed and threw herself to the floor as a bolt of purple light streaked over her. It struck the bars behind her with a loud clang, like a knife glancing of solid metal. She whimpered and began to pull herself to her feet. One eye was kept on her captors, while the rest of her attention was focused on her wand. She'd tucked it into the back of her waistband; if she could get her hand around it, maybe she could at least cast a protection charm or something on herself.
"Looking for this?" someone said snidely.
Dawn's skin prickled. She knew that voice… but from where?
When she looked up, the one who had spoken was teasing her with her own wand. He laughed and put it on the only table in the cabin, leaving Dawn's only source of aid so close and yet too far away. She went back to her original game plan of putting as much distance between herself and the Death Eaters as possible.
"Do you see what we could do to you if you provoke us?" the leader continued, still in that softly sinister voice. "Do you want to change your answer now, before it's too late?"
"No," Dawn spat. "I don't know what you want and I don't care. It doesn't matter what you do to me, I'll never help you."
One curse, she had been able to dodge. Seven, she was no match for. She didn't know what ones has even hit her, but she felt their impact and found herself on the floor, struggling to breathe and feeling dizzy.
"By the time we're through, you won't have a choice," the leader swore. "The Dark Lord is as clever as he is powerful- he knows you are somehow connected to the Key. He knows you know where it is, and one way or another you're going to tell us."
"You're psycho," Dawn said. If she could bluff it out with Glory, she could bluff it out with these animals. "I don't even know what you're on about."
She couldn't see his face, but she was sure her tormentor was smiling underneath his mask. "I was hoping you'd say that. It will be so much more fun to hear you scream for mercy while we slowly tear you apart. And you want to know the best bit, little Mudblood? We'll still find a use for you even when you've been reduced to a bloody carcass."
Dawn narrowed her eyes, though her main purpose was to limit the amount of space for frightened tears to escape through. Her jaw set and she looked away.
"You see, you're not just our captive. You're our currency."
That got her attention. Dawn's head snapped around to stare at the Death Eater, even though his face wasn't visible for her to read. She could hear him chuckling, though.
"You're going to help me find the Key anyway. If you won't tell, I'm sure your dear Professor Dumbledore will. Once he hears I'm willing to trade one of his worthless students for the Key, I'm sure he'll be tripping over his beard to make the exchange."
Dawn gulped. The only way the Death Eaters were willing to set her free was by giving them the exact information that would condemn her anyway. She couldn't win.
"Of course," the lead Death Eater said gleefully, "I don't plan on mentioning to Dumbledore that you'll be sent back in little pieces. Unless of course you want to start talking?"
Dawn's lower lip trembled. She sank to the ground in her little corner of the cage, her whole body starting to shake. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her head in the folds of her limbs so that the Death Eaters couldn't see her cry while they laughed.
"Lemon Drops! Fizzing Whizbees! Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans! Chocolate Frogs! Move you bastards!" James yelled. "Cockroach Cluster! Blood Lollipop!"
At last, the stone gargoyles guarding Dumbledore's office groaned and moved aside. James, Sirius and Remus thundered up the stairs that weren't moving fast enough for them.
"Dumbledore!" James hollered, shoving straight into the inner office without even knocking. "Professor! Where are you?"
"Here," Dumbledore said, popping up on the little landing above his office. "What's all this fuss, James?"
"Dawn!" James burst out, forgetting to lower his voice in his panic. "She's gone! We can't find her anywhere!"
At once, the Headmaster was more serious than the students had ever seen him. In a flash far too quick for a man his age, he was down the little flight of stairs and in his seat. He looked at each of the three boys in turn.
"Tell me everything, now."
Only Remus and James had been present for the full story and James wasn't in any condition for calm storytelling, so it was Remus who spoke up. He was frantic and spoke quickly, but did not stumble over his words.
"We split up at dusk, when James, Peter and I went to meet Sirius at the Three Broomsticks. I offered to walk her back to Hogwarts, but she wouldn't let me. She just walked off alone, and when we went back to the Common Room just now, she wasn't there. And Lily and Isabel said they haven't seen her since Hogsmeade. Sir, something's happened to her, I know it!"
"Are you certain she's nowhere else in the castle?" Dumbledore fired back.
"Not in the dorm, Isabel checked," Remus said. "She went with Lily and Peter to check the Library, but we know she's not going to be there. We just… know Professor. Please, trust us on this," he begged.
Dumbledore nodded curtly. He stood and went directly to the fireplace, threw in a handful of floo powder, and knelt down on the hearth.
"Ministry of Magic: Auror Department," he said clearly, sticking his head into the green flames.
The boys watched anxiously while Dumbledore waited for someone in the Auror Department to answer his call. James' head was massaging his scalp, constantly ruffling his hair while Remus chewed on his thumbnail and Sirius stalked around the office, unable to settle himself.
"Ah!" Dumbledore said at last. "Alastor, I need your help here at Hogwarts. One of my students has gone missing this evening. She was a target of Voldemort's, I fear the worst for her. Will you come?"
Not being able to hear 'Alastor's' replies was driving the boys wild with fear and suspense. Sirius was fighting the urge to yell, to ask him what this guy was saying, and he here looking for Dawn yet when Dumbledore spoke up again.
"Understood," he said heavily. "If you floo who you need and get them in right away, I'll contact Harold myself."
The Headmaster pulled his head out of the green flames, but before the boys could ask what was happening, he was reaching for the floo powder and was back in amongst the ashes.
"Godric's Hollow."
He waited a moment, then spoke again. "Hello, Cecilia my dear, so sorry to have startled you. Is Harold in tonight? It's quite important I speak with him. Speak with you both actually."
"Hurry up Dad," James murmured, willing his father to get to the fireplace quicker and for Dumbledore to start talking again. Because of their stupidity, it was a few hours before Dawn had even been noticed missing, he was feeling guilty and all this messing around wasn't helping. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to her.
"Harold, yes we have a situation. Dawn Summers is missing, it's imperative we find her as soon as possible… Yes, I've contacted Moody. If you floo in he'll meet you here."
Without another word, Dumbledore broke the connection. The soot clung to his beard, he wiped it absently away as he turned to face the three boys on the verge of tearing his office apart in an anxiety attack. "It won't be long," he said softly. "I think you should all sit down."
Remus complied. He sat, but he couldn't get comfortable so he ended up just fidgeting non-stop until Sirius threatened to stun him if he didn't bloody well sit still. Sirius himself ignored the Headmaster's suggestion and kept right on pacing about the office. James was almost dancing on the spot, crawling out of his skin with nerves waiting for something to happen. Even Fawkes could not effectively comfort them. Dumbledore just sighed, sitting in his seat and rubbing tiredly at his forehead.
Finally (although less than five minutes had passed) the fire roared to life again. something whirred in amongst the green flames, and then Harold Potter was stepping out and brushing his robes off.
"Dad!" James threw himself at his father, not caring who saw, or who thought he was acting like a child. Harold held onto his son, rocking him a little and rubbing his back the way he'd done since the day James was born. James regrouped quickly and pulled away.
"Dad, you've got to find her," he said frantically. "She's been gone for ages, what if Voldemort's got her?" Nobody seemed to notice that James hadn't stuttered. Harold put a hand on his shoulder.
"I know, mate. We'll find her. But you've got to remain calm," he said.
He glanced at Dumbledore, who nodded, giving him permission to take charge. He led James to the couch next to Remus and sat him down, then called Sirius over. When the boys were all lined up, he pulled a chair close for himself and took out a quill and notepad.
"Ok boys, I need you to think about this for a minute. I need to know what time Dawn was last seen by anyone, and I need to know exactly where she was," Harold said, slowly and clearly.
"Dusk," James said impatiently, Dumbledore having been told this already. "It was right after sunset. We were on the main street of Hogsmeade near that crappy old quill store."
Harold nodded, jotting it down. "Which way was she heading, and who was she with?"
"Well, us, Mr Potter," Remus spoke up. "James and Peter and I, I mean. There was nobody else around, Padfoot was already waiting at the Three Broomsticks for us. Dawn has started to walk back to Hogwarts."
"Alone?" Harold asked sharply, no longer looking at his notes.
Ashamed, both James and Remus nodded. Knowing it was the wrong time for lectures on responsibility that would definitely be coming later, Harold said nothing. He glanced at Sirius, staring stonily at the floor, then stood up. He went to talk to Dumbledore.
"Once the rest of the team arrives, we'll send some of them to check this area out. Hopefully we'll turn up a lead on what's happened," he said. His voice was calm and professional, but deep lines of worry were etched into his face. "The rest, I'll have putting out descriptions over the Wizarding Wireless and the Daily Prophet, then they can start doorknocking. Maybe someone in the village will have seen something."
Dumbledore nodded and spoke quietly, but the boys lined up on the couch were so silent that they heard every word anyway. "Good, Harold. But what do you think might have happened? What's your theory to start with?"
Harold sighed heavily. "She intended to come back here, it wouldn't be like the Dawn we know to just wander off alone. So I think we can rule out that wherever she's gone, she went willingly. She can't have got lost- it's impossible to lose the path back to Hogwarts. Of course she may have fallen in the dark and hurt herself, and I'll have the path checked just in case, but I don't think so. It doesn't look good, Dumbledore."
The boys shared a look. When was more help going to arrive? They all looked up at a knock on the door, but it was only Isabel, Lily and a red-faced Peter pushing into the room.
"We thought you'd already be here," Isabel said quietly as she went to squish in next to Remus. Her eyes were watering. "She's not in the Library and Myrtle hasn't seen her… we couldn't find her anywhere!"
"I know," Remus murmured, smoothing her hair back. "That Aurors are coming."
Lily walked straight over to the desk where the two adults were seated. "Headmaster, is there any news yet?"
"I'm sorry, Lily," Dumbledore soothed. "No. We're still waiting for the rest of the Auror team to arrive. I'm sure they will be here very soon," he added for the benefit of the boys practically growling on the couch.
Sirius looked up suddenly. "Why wait?" he said, jumping to his feet. "We're wasting time here- we should be checking this area out ourselves!"
"No!" both Harold and Dumbledore said as one.
Sirius glared.
"You need to think about this, Sirius," Harold said quietly. "If something has happened, you'll only get yourself hurt running off in the dark after her. It's hard, I know, but you just have to wait for the other Aurors and let us do our job, son."
"I'm not your son," Sirius grumbled, looking at the ground. Nonetheless, he sat down and slumped in his seat.
There was a loud pop, and then suddenly the office was much more cramped. Several men in heavy robes had Port-Keyed into the room. Two men stepped forwards, one looking rather grizzled with two mismatched eyes, and the other younger, slightly pompous and flustered looking.
"Alastor, at last," Dumbledore said softly. "Hello, Cornelius," he said to the younger. "Nice of you to join us, too."
The one called Alastor glared at Cornelius dropping the rope that had served as a Port-Key and shaking Dumbledore's hand. "Dumbledore, Potter. What have you got for me?"
Harold glanced at his notes for barely a second. "Missing fifteen year-old girl, last seen at dusk heading back to the castle. She never made it here. Exact location was Main Street near the quill store, I thought we could do a sweep from the gates to there and then fan out on any possible leads," he assessed.
Alastor nodded. "Description?" he barked.
"Yay high," Harold held up a hand. "American accent, long brown hair, big blue eyes…"
"Any distinguishing features?" Alastor snapped, his electric blue eye swivelling to fix on all the students in the office one by one.
It was Sirius who spoke up. "She has scars, sir, but they wouldn't be visible."
"Call me Moody, boy. And where?" Moody fired back.
Lily was fumbling around in her pocketbook, unaware that Moody's magical eye was watching her through the back of his head.
"One along he left wrist, and two down here," Sirius said, running his fingers across his pelvis low enough to have all the adults in the room raising their eyebrows.
Lily stepped forward, something in her hand. "Mr Moody, I have a picture if that helps."
He took the picture of Dawn and Isabel laughing together, ordered the picture-Isabel to step aside, and passed it around to the other Aurors to study.
"Let's move out," Harold said, stepping up. "I want two teams-"
"Just a minute, Potter," Cornelius broke in. "As Junior Minister for Magical Catastrophes, I still need some information about the case. We've got to keep this incident quiet, or it could case a panic- You-Know-Who snatching children from under our noses now! Who is this girl? Who are her parents? I may have to notify the, if the situation gets dire."
All the students were sharing frustrated looks, as were Moody and Harold. Dawn was in real danger, why was this pompous moron wasting time worrying about public opinion and cover-ups?
"The girl is Dawn Summers," Dumbledore supplied quickly. "And she has no parents and no guardians to notify. At the present, she is an unofficial ward of the school."
Cornelius breathed a sigh of relief. "Well that's a relief then. With no guardians, it will be that much easier to stop if from leaking to the press if something does go ill with the girl."
Lily huffed in outrage. Remus struggled to hold both James and Sirius down. Isabel was too incensed to bother helping; if they were going to attack this jerk, she didn't see a problem with that.
"Now see here, Fudge," Harold boomed. "My wife's been planning how to decorate that girl's room since Christmas, and come hell or high water, I'm brining her home!"
"But- but you're not her guardian,' Fudge blustered.
"I'll sign the bloody paperwork tonight if I have to, just after we've got Dawn back safely. Now can we get on with doing our jobs?" Harold retorted.
Fudge was argued into silence, and Harold turned to divide up the teams of Aurors and give them their assignments. Moody took the photograph of Dawn and headed the team in charge of questioning possible witnesses while the field team waited for Harold's command. He turned and nodded at Dumbledore.
"I'll check in as soon as I have something."
With one last encouraging look at the young Gryffindors, he strode from the office to get on the case.
"I understand you're all concerned, but you should not stop looking after yourselves in the meantime," Dumbledore lectured gently. "Go back to your dorms and try to get some sleep."
James just snorted.
Dawn coughed and curled in protectively on herself. She never knew when the curses were coming anymore. All night (or she assumed it had been that long) the Death Eaters had alternated between questioning her, raining curses upon her, taunting her, then leaving her in a ragged heap on the floor to wait in fear for the next round.
"Ready for some more?" that chillingly familiar voice asked.
Dawn whimpered and curled up tighter, but did not answer. She could feel all the eyes on her, leering at her through the masks.
"I said, are you ready for some more?" the Death Eater repeated. "Now ANSWER ME!"
Dawn jumped and clenched her fists against the rough floor. "Stop it," she choked. "Leave me alone."
"That's it, you little bitch. You asked for it."
The cage door was unlocked and thrown open and Dawn tensed. She felt hands grabbing at her and she was hauled out. One of them had conjured a chair, she was thrown into it. She clutched at the sides in fear.
"Where is the Key?"
Dawn looked longingly at her wand, still lying on the table. Then her mind exploded with realisation. The voice… she'd only heard it once in real life, but a hundred times in her dreams. She didn't even see the fist coming. The punch exploded against her nose, then she was knocked to the ground with blood spurting from her face.
"We'll try it again. Where is the Key? What does it look like? Is it human?"
Dawn was shoved back onto the chair, only to be slapped off again when she refused to answer. She closed her eyes, concentrating on remembering the name. It was something weird, something strange. It was like a hash light bulb throwing the shadows from a dark room. Strange! Lestrange! It was Rabast- He slammed his heavy boot into her side, unconsciously knocking the thoughts out of her along with the wind. He bent down and ripped the claddagh ring she still wore from her hand.
"I had hoped to make you talk by now," he admitted while two others dragged Dawn's limp, half-conscious form carelessly back to her cell. "But no matter- looks like my Lord will be writing a little note to that old fool after all.
He Disapparated with a pop, leaving Dawn to dread whatever was in store for her next. Wincing with the pain, she pulled a handkerchief from her jeans pocket and dabbed gingerly at her face. In seconds, the material was sticky and red, but she still didn't feel that any of it was off her face. She sniffled, and even that small movement caused a sharp stab in her nose.
She wasn't sure how much more she could take. At this point, even if she wasn't the Key she doubted the pain would stop once she started talking. She knew it was Rabastan Lestrange who had gone off to have Voldemort send a ransom note to Dumbledore, and she wondered how the old Wizard would react. Would he try to do something to help her? Or would he just ignore the note and let the Death Eaters do what they would to her? Would he kill her himself, just to stop Voldemort from having her power? Worse, would he write and tell Voldemort he was welcome to his Key- it was already in his possession?
Dawn whimpered at the thought. Her mind drifted to her friends and she wondered how they would feel when she was gone. Would James, with his lively eyes and warm hugs melt down with the grief of losing a sibling the same way she would if their situations were reversed? Would Peter, who tried so desperately to act as though he no longer liked her, finally move on to a girl who could actually be his? And Remus- Tara had once said she'd seen Oz wolf-out during the day from the sheer force of his emotions- did Remus feel strongly enough about their friendship to do that? Or was she only a temporary Marauder, a novelty they'd all soon forget about?
Sirius. Her heart clenched just thinking about him, even now. How would he feel? Would he even feel anything? The latest rumour circulating was that he had gone all the way with Celeste Elliot in a broom closet, would he go right back to her for more as soon as he found out? Or would he already be bedding another girl by that night? It was that thought that made Dawn's eyes water more than anything. If only the Death Eaters knew; they didn't have to throw a single curse to torture her, they just needed to remind her that the only boy she'd ever shared herself with body and soul was finding comfort in the arms of other girls on an almost daily basis. Apparently Andromeda's laughing assessment of Sirius' previous relationships hadn't been too far off the mark at all. He did change girls as often as he changed his underwear.
She should've been paying more attention to the sinister sniggers of the Death Eaters than to her own heart-ache. Her broken heart really wasn't the most important issue at the present, but the possibility of a broken neck was.
"Such a filthy little Mudblood, rolling around on the dirty floor," one of the Death Eaters mused. "Maybe we should wash it."
A torrential downpour of icy water hammered into Dawn's whole body. She didn't have time to brace herself, or even close her mouth. The water was choking her, half half-drowning her and pounding onto her tender, probably broken nose until it bled again. It felt like it lasted forever, but then the Death Eaters were laughing too hard to keep up with the spell and she had a minute's reprieve to cough up all the water. Her soggy, cold clothes weighed her down, making it almost impossible for her to crawl back into her corner.
One of her tormentors approached her cage. He sniffed disdainfully at her. "No. Still filthy."
"Go to hell," Dawn muttered thickly.
The change in the atmosphere was as rapid as a thunderbolt from Olympus. All the Death Eaters recoiled as if she'd spat at them. The closest one slammed his hands against the bars.
"What did you say, whore!?" he demanded.
Dawn looked up at him blearily, right into where she supposed his eye would be. Now that she'd done it, she may as well do it properly. "I said go to hell, you trained monkey."
"Crucio!"
It was pain beyond anything Dawn had ever experienced. Glory at her worst had nothing on this curse, it was like a thousand knives stabbing into her over and over. Dawn threw her head back and screamed.
She knew this could go on forever if they chose to make it, but as she screamed she took sick consolation in the thought that soon she wouldn't feel it. She'd either black out or go insane; either way it would be blissful oblivion.
Her mind didn't register that the curse had been lifted as quickly as her body. It went slack, her only movements little involuntary shakes and shivers. It was mere moments before she lost consciousness, hoping to never wake up.
If Dumbledore had slept at all, he would've been woken ridiculously early by six young Gryffindors barging into his office.
"Any news?" James asked without wasting time on pleasantries.
Dumbledore levelled a heavy gaze at him. "Not yet, James. The Aurors have searched the area you described as Dawn's last known whereabouts, but discovered nothing out of the ordinary. They are currently trying to uncover any possible leads to follow and will check in as soon as they have more information."
"We'll wait, then," Lily decided crisply. The others all nodded and helped themselves to seats. Dumbledore looked ready to protest, but from the looks on their faces he could already tell it would be pointless. He nodded gravely.
"I have one condition," he announced, waving his wand. "You're all to eat something, or I'll be sending you off to Madam Pomfrey before you makes yourselves ill."
A little table of food had popped up in the middle of the office. None of them were particularly in the mood, but they all picked up a plate and forced a few bites down.
"Good," Dumbledore said softly.
Tap tap. Tap tap.
Everyone jumped at the sudden noise and whipped around to the window, wands drawn. A coal black screech owl was hovering there, an acid green letter clasped in its beak.
Dumbledore frowned and ordered his students back against the wall. He let the owl in, it dropped the letter at his feet and screeched once before disappearing as suddenly as it had appeared. The Headmaster took the letter back to his desk and sat down to open it. Despite their instructions, the others crept closer to look.
As he unfolded the green parchment, something fell out and hit the desk with a little clanging noise. Sirius' eyes widened as he looked at it and his hand went automatically to the chain around his neck. On the desk was a silver claddagh ring, corresponding to the one he still wore in secret, concealed on a chain beneath his shirt.
Dumbledore didn't have to ask to know who the ring belonged to. His dread deepening a notch, he read the words scribbled out in the long letters he'd come to know as Tom Riddle's handwriting.
Dumbledore,
if you want the Mudblood back, I want the Key by midnight. I'll send instructions on where you can leave it. If I see one Auror even near the exchange, the deal's off- I'll take the Key and kill the girl anyway. If you don't bring me the Key, then you'll never find the girl in one piece again.
The note was signed with nothing but a 'V'. As soon as Dumbledore had read it once, the parchment leapt from the desk, folded itself into the form of a hissing snake, then burst into a shower of fragments. Isabel gasped in shock and leapt back into Remus' arms.
"What did it-?" Remus started to ask, but a long-fingered, wrinkled hand came up to silence him.
"Minky," he called, and a House-Elf popped up at once and bowed deeply. "Minky, could you please go down to the village and request that Harold Potter and Alastor Moody accompany you back here at once?"
Without the usual babble and fuss of a House-Elf, Minky nodded once and disappeared with a little 'crack'. The Marauders exchanged unsettled glances and Lily chewed fretfully on her thumbnail.
"I'd like you all to wait outside," Dumbledore said quietly.
"No!" Sirius burst out.
For the first time since the boy had set foot in the school, Dumbledore came close to glaring at him. He rose slowly, Peter started to edge backwards but Sirius just stood there defiantly. Dumbledore looked at each of them in turn before speaking again.
"You're all concerned for your friend's welfare, I admire and understand that. But this is a serious situation, one which even students such as yourselves are just not equipped to handle. It's imperative, for the safety of Dawn and of others that you let myself and the Aurors work without distraction. Now go and wait outside, I'll inform you once I've conferred with Harold and Moody," he said firmly.
Defeated, the others turned towards the door. But Sirius was panicking, his mind was working overtime and not thinking straight at that. A sick thought came to him and pushed him over the edge into hysteria.
"You're going to sell her out to Voldemort, aren't you?" he accused. Everybody froze.
"Sirius, calm down," Dumbledore said slowly. "I will do no such thing, I assure you."
"You liar!"
James and Remus leapt forwards to grab his arms. "Come on, Padfoot. You're talking rubbish," Remus said as they boys started to haul Sirius out.
Sirius struggled the whole way. "I swear to Merlin, if you do it, I'll kill you," he growled. "Do you hear me? I'll kill you!"
Dumbledore watched sadly, deciding it was best not to try to respond. Sirius didn't need to hear promises that he'd do everything in his power to restore Dawn to safety; he needed to see someone make good on them.
In the outer office, James, Remus and now Lily were all struggling to hold Sirius back. In the end, Isabel whipped out her wand and pointed it right between his eyes.
"Sirius Black, you're not helping," she hollered. "If you don't settle down RIGHT NOW, I'll hex you unconscious for a week!"
Sirius growled again, but started struggling less. Lily stopped pushing on his chest so hard in response. He was huffing noisily, but finally he didn't need to be restrained anymore.
"Bloody hell, Padfoot," James snapped. "I know you're stressed, but did you have to go and accuse Dumbledore of all people of being a sell-out?"
"Well why is he still sitting there on his wrinkly old ass doing nothing?" Sirius yelled back, pointing at the door and not caring if he was overheard. "I've had enough of hearing that I need to sit down and be a good boy. By the time these guys finish frigging around, she could be dead. And if they're not going to do something about it, I'll do it myself!"
Sirius' eyes were ablaze with resolution and he stomped for the spiral staircase. James grabbed his shoulder, but Sirius shook him off.
"Sirius, you're not thinking straight," James, called, making to follow him and stop him from doing anything too rash.
To his surprise, a feminine hand grasped his wrist. James felt a tingle of warm pleasure at the contact and glanced up, catching Lily's eye.
"Let him go, Potter," she said, her voice more gentle than he'd ever heard directed at him. "He needs the space."
Meanwhile, in the heart of Dumbledore's office, three men had listened to Sirius' outburst. Moody watched his retreat through the wall with his magical eye.
"So you reckon he's one I'll be training up in the Auror program in a couple of years?" he said to Dumbledore. "Rash and ballsy, he'll make a good field man until he goes out and gets himself killed," he assessed. "So, what've you got for us on the Summers case?"
Sirius stormed through the castle, heading blindly for the exit. Once out in the fresh air, he took cover behind a clump of trees and transformed into Padfoot. He trotted right out the front gates of Hogwarts unnoticed and right to the spot in Hogsmeade where the others had said they'd last seen Dawn.
There were a couple of Aurors still milling about, but most of them had given up on the cold lead and were currently looking for other clues. Padfoot barked once, then put his nose to the ground and started sniffing. There were countless scents hitting his nose, but Padfoot had long since learned how to control his instincts as an animal.
He slowly tuned all the distractions out until only one scent remained: vanilla, but sort of spicy to him while still being pure and sweet. Dawn's scent. He closed his eyes and followed his nose, until it occurred to him that he should be memorising the path and opened his eyes again.
The trail took him to a more residential area of the village, somewhere neither Sirius or Padfoot had ever strayed before. He took a couple of turns and found himself in a considerably shabbier part of Hogsmeade. The cottages were all bleak grey stone, and most windows were covered with heavy draperies.
Dawn's scent was getting a little bit stronger now. Padfoot paused to look around at his surroundings. He read the street sign: Corsair Street. He started following the trail again.
There was a little cottage at the end of the street, and Padfoot was drawn right to it. He looked around again, this time to make sure he wasn't being watched and trotted silently to the edge of the unkempt garden.
The weeds were thick and tangled, burs caught in his fur and pulled bit Padfoot pushed through without hesitation until he reached the first of three windows. He reared up on his hind legs, bracing his front paws against the ledge. The curtains were drawn tight, he couldn't see inside.
But he could smell. Dawn was in there. He almost barked with anger, because he could not only smell her, but her blood. His heightened dog senses could also make out the sound of her screaming, through a sound-proofing charm it seemed distant and soft, like hearing someone blow bubbles underwater.
With a growl of frustration deep in his throat, Padfoot pushed off the ledge and headed for the next one. This time, there was a miniscule little gap in the curtains, barely enough to give him a glimpse into the room.
But he could see Dawn. She was locked in a cage, twitching violently and shaking. It only took him a moment of sickened horror to realise that she was under the Cruciatus Curse. From her condition, it appeared that it wasn't the first time, either.
There was blood all over her face, she looked limp and stringy somehow, like she'd been swimming with her clothes on. The Cruciatus was lifted and Dawn went deathly still for a moment, so still that it looked as if she'd stopped breathing. Just as Padfoot was about to revert to his usual form and dive through the window in a panic, he saw signs of life in her again.
Dawn slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head. Her gaze slid over to the window, compelled by an unseen force. She froze as she caught the flash of pale eyes amidst black fur, her own eyes begging for help.
Padfoot froze. In his panic, he was starting to lose sight of rationality. Dawn needed him, but there were at least seven Death Eaters in that cottage. He didn't know what to do.
"Mr P! Mr P!"
Harold turned at the sound of someone bellowing his name. His eyebrows hit his hairline as he stepped all the way out of the Three Broomsticks, having questioned all the patrons to see if they had any information. Since Voldemort's little letter to Dumbledore, his nerves had been set even more on edge.
"Sirius, what in Merlin's name are you doing running around Hogsmeade?" he asked sternly. The last thing he needed was for another Marauder to go missing this weekend.
"I found her. I know where she is," Sirius panted.
Harold studied him a second. "How did you find her? Are you absolutely sure it was her?"
Sirius nodded emphatically. "I'm sure. I just found her, in a cottage. This way-" he grabbed Harold's robe sleeve and started to pull him along.
"No, we'll need back-up," Harold said, stopping him. "And you're certainly not coming."
Sirius wanted to protest, but he knew it would probably be pointless. To his surprise, Harold took out a mirror much like those he'd given to James and Sirius for Christmas.
"Moody," he said clearly. A moment later, the grizzled face of Alastor Moody appeared in the glass. "Mad-Eye, get all hands on deck and in Dumbledore's office right away. We may have a location."
Moody nodded and disappeared. Harold looked back at Sirius. "Right, on the way back to Hogwarts, you can tell me everything you know," he said, leaving no room for argument.
They walked briskly, only Harold rapid-firing questions at him kept Sirius from breaking into a run. At Harold's request, Sirius explained that he'd gone to Corsair Street ("Just to look around, I needed to do something useful," he assured the older man at his incredulous look) and seen Dawn through a crack in the curtains. He then went on to explain that it was the cottage right on the end with three windows and an even more unkempt garden than the rest of the street.
"How many points of exit?' Harold asked. "Blood lollipop."
"Only one in front, but I couldn't see round the back. But Mr P," Sirius said, looking frightened and a little lost. "Please hurry. They were hurting her- I saw her under the Cruciatus."
Harold put his hand on Sirius' shoulder, a little hesitant. He still wasn't sure if Sirius would ever really forgive him for killing his father. Sirius froze a moment, then gripped Harold's arm for a second. They arrived at the top of the stairs and pushed into Dumbledore's office.
As usual, Lily, Isabel and the other three Marauders were littering the office, it looked as if they hadn't left since Dumbledore concluded his earlier meeting with Harold and Moody. Sirius glanced sheepishly around, a little embarrassed by his earlier tantrum.
"Dumbledore, we have something," Harold announced.
The entire room snapped to attention. Even Fawkes straightened on his perch and stopped preening his feathers.
"Yes?" Dumbledore said, a hint of urgency in his voice.
"Dawn's been sighted, as soon as Moody rounds up the others we're launching the rescue mission," Harold said, turning to give a reassuring little smile to his son and his friends. "We're bringing her home."
They all seemed to breathe so much easier from that point on. A couple of relieved tears even trickled unnoticed down Lily's cheeks, and James hugged his father as hard as he could.
The other Aurors started to arrive by floo network and by Port-Key. Dumbledore glanced pointedly between his students and the door. With annoyed sighs, but no verbal complaints, they all headed for the outer office without a fuss this time. When all were present, Harold briefed the Aurors and Dumbledore on what Sirius had told him.
"You're sure this is a reliable source?" Moody questioned.
Harold nodded. "Eye witness, very reliable," he said. He deliberately failed to name Sirius; Dumbledore had been willing to turn a blind eye to his outburst earlier, but Harold doubted he'd be so forgiving when he heard about the foolhardy rescue mission the boy had gone on.
"How many Death Eaters are we dealing with?" on of the other Aurors asked.
"At least seven. But there could be more, so I think all hands on deck is our best bet here. If we've got all of us in there to watch each other's backs, it'll be that much safer," Harold said.
"I also want cover at every window, and two on the door," Moody threw in. "While we're at it, I want all these stinking scoundrels caught and brought to justice. Whose going to grab the girl?"
"I am," said Harold firmly.
Moody nodded and pointed to two of the more junior Aurors in the back. "I want you two covering Potter at all times."
He quickly assigned positions and tasks to the rest of the team and then they all filed out of the office. Harold hung back to speak to Dumbledore.
"Albus, can you floo Cecilia for me? She'll be expecting it, I want her to come in and assist Poppy Pomfrey when we bring Dawn back," he muttered quietly. "They trained as Healers together."
Deep lines of worry creased the Headmaster's face as he nodded. "Is it really that bad?" he fretted.
"I'm not taking any chances."
Harold marched out and caught up with the rest of his team, already on the front steps of the castle and waiting for him to lead them to the location Sirius had described. He glanced around.
"Everybody ready? Right, let's move out."
Dawn couldn't stop shaking. If they weren't covered in blood, her lips would be as blue as the tips of her fingers were. The burning buzz of pain was still sending shockwaves through her body, though she hadn't been on the receiving end of the Cruciatus Curse for a little while now. She couldn't really piece the last few hours together in her head, but there was the unmistakeable, suffocating smell of vomit all around her, and she somehow doubted it was one of the Death Eaters with a queasy stomach.
They were talking, always talking, but all that reached her ears was a dull rumble so she tuned it out. She retreated into her fragmented mind and concentrated on trying to figure out how to put words back together, so that maybe things would make sense again. Right now nothing was making sense. Words were jumping out at her randomly, and she knew it was a puzzle she needed to put back together but every time she tried to grab at a piece, the words would slip through her fingers and she'd be lost again.
Everything around her seemed dark, she didn't think she'd ever find her way free of the cage. Hysteria rose like the bile in her throat, but she bit it back. If she could just find one word, just one word to hold on to, then maybe she could make a thought. Maybe she would survive.
It was dark.
Dark…
Something went with darkness. What was it?
Cold.
It's dark and cold.
And loneliness. Loneliness went with dark and cold. She was lonely in her cage.
I'm all alone.
There was a loud pounding in her ears. Dawn kept her eyes closed and concentrated on it, sporadic and fluctuating, but still resounding throughout her whole body. Her heartbeat. She shifted a little, until she fell face down against the ground and felt her heartbeat hammering against the cold stone.
There's nothing around,
my heart hits the ground.
Dawn moaned as a new wave of pain echoed through her with her return to a more conscious state. Was she going to be this broken wreck forever? Did anybody care?
Isn't somebody going to come?
Will they ever help me?
She breathed as deeply as she could, trying to put it together in her mind.
It's dark and cold,
I'm all alone.
There's nothing around,
My heart hits the ground
Isn't somebody going to come?
Will they ever help me?
She began to recite the words under her breath, it still sounded like gibberish to her, but it seemed to calm her down a little bit. She got through it once, then put all her mind power into remembering it to recite again. Anything to keep her thoughts lucid, but focused on anything other than her current situation.
She winced on reflex as she heard the pinging noise of her cage being unlocked and opened. Two heavy footsteps later, she was being yanked into an upright position, her back colliding painfully with the bars.
They forced a vial of some sick concoction into her, Dawn felt it burning down her throat, itching it until she wanted to rip her own skin open to scratch it.
"We'll get you to talk yet, bitch," said that voice she recognised, before she was left alone in her filthy little cage again.
At first, nothing happened. Then the itch in her throat started to dull along with all her other senses. A few minutes later, Dawn lost all sense of clarity. Everything was bleary and her body felt funny, like it was being relaxed against her will.
In some faraway place in her mind, Dawn realised with fear that whatever they asked of her now, she probably wouldn't have the mental defences left to conceal the truth. She closed her eyes, resigning herself to her fate at last.
It took her a moment to register that something was happening. There was a loud BOOM, and the splintering of glass and wood; the door and the windows had been literally blown in.
The instant the 'Reducto' hit the door, Harold was shoving through. Not even minding the splinters of wood that fell on and around him. The Death Eaters were in shock at the ambush, but it didn't take them more than two heartbeats to draw their wands and begin countering the Aurors' spells.
Trusting that the two assigned to watch his back would do their jobs, Harold fired off a couple of curses and charged straight for the cage. There was blood, water and vomit all over the place, making Harold's spine tingle with rage. Dawn was slumped in one corner like a worn out dish-rag. She was barely breathing, and he couldn't even tell if she was conscious or not.
"Bombarda!"
He was so angry that the cage door disintegrated as it was blown off its hinges. He felt the hot zing of a curse ruffling the back of his head, but did not hesitate to push through the filth to Dawn's side. Very tenderly, mindful of her injuries, Harold began to gather her up in his arms.
A sluggish hint of life stirred in Dawn as she felt the careful arms go around her.
"Daddy…"
A.N.Next chapter is already written, waiting to be typed. I swear on my Jeff Hardy action figure I'll do my best to update that as soon as I can! Anoron
