Disclaimer I don't own Harry Potter. All rights to the characters and universe the story belongs in belong to JK Rowling

Chapter 27 - An Unexpected Ally

The next week, not that Harry or Trott had managed to keep track, passed in a flurry of pain for the two. Harry was continually beaten, whipped, water boarded and placed under other obscene muggle tortures by Blade. His only reprieve then being the magical torture of Priory on the days Blade wasn't available.

Trott wasn't fairing much better. Although she hadn't been physically beaten or assaulted they had tortured her with a wand which, whilst not leaving a mark, still caused an unnerving amount of suffering. She also spent much more time in the company of the dementors than Harry, causing her to constantly relive her most daunting memories.

The two were on the brink and although they were each administered with pain relief potions each morning, they weren't helping the open wounds that now littered Harry's body. Many of them had started to become infected and he had started to feel feverish.

Their captures had been clever too, never leaving both of them together in any fit state to talk or plot an escape plan. As soon as one was awake enough to start thinking they were hauled away to the torture chamber.

Hopelessness was starting to creep into Harry's demeanour and his only saving grace was that they hadn't seemed to of captured Ginny yet. Despite Priory's constant tormenting on the subject. Trott had fallen back into stuttering with chattering teeth, the dementors constant influence, having drained the little confidence she had managed to retain.

It was a surprise for both of them when the man returned, he hadn't been seen since they had first awoken. He smiled with the same evil grin and released them both from their binds, allowing the dementors to carry them back to the torture chamber. They were once again seated in the chairs in front of the man and their two torturers when he spoke.

'So now you have tasted our fine hospitality' he told them mockingly 'Have you reconsidered my offer to join forces?'

Harry snorted 'You'll have to do better than this to change my mind.' He said shakily. Trott glared back refusing to speak.

'I see there is still fight in you both then. I suppose this shouldn't surprise me, particularly from the man who defeated Voldemort.' There's Voldemort's name again. 'This simply won't do. Younis, please commence your attack on Casta El Griff.'

'With pleasure.' Answered Priory.

'You can't!' Shouted Harry, trying to wrench himself free to no avail.

'Oh but we can Potter. We won't though, if you agree to join us.' Said the man. Harry remained silent so with one last evil grin at the two Priory left.

'Don't worry we'll make sure to report back to you on how the attack went. We may even show you the memory if you're good.' Said Blade lightly, smirking as he did so.

'I think we'll be fine without it.' Harry growled at him.

'You don't look so good Potter, are you feeling well?' Asked the man with a knowing gleam in his eye.

'I've felt better. This place is better than where I grew up though so I can't complain.' Said Harry, almost conversationally, his glare betraying the casual tone of his voice.

'Oh, in what way?'

'I don't have to do the cooking.' He deadpanned. 'Our rooms bigger too.' Trott glared at him as if he had started to go mad, then again she thought, with the fever maybe he had done.

The man chuckled 'Well I'm glad it's to your liking.'

'Ummm, a question if I may?'

'I'll allow one, yes.'

'How did you meet Tom Riddle?'

The man eyed Harry warily, 'I never met anyone by that name.'

'Don't lie to me.' Said Harry returning to his growling tone. 'You met Tom Riddle, a young Englishman fresh from working at Borgin and Burkes. So, tell me Bogeyman,' Trott went wide eyed as Harry announced this 'What did Riddle want with you?'

'I've not been called that in years.' He muttered before pondering how to continue 'What makes you so certain I met this Tom Riddle?'

'He wanted to make it so that everyone in the world would fear to speak his name, you had already got a reputation in Europe amongst the muggles and even with some wizards having achieved that. He would have wanted to learn your methods.'

The man blanched slightly 'Yes he sought me out, not that I had to teach him much though.'

'You must have taught him something.'

'Of course I did' he snapped 'I taught him how to cause fear in places without ever having been there. I taught him how to rule with a reign of terror. Half the stuff the Aurors thought has been me over the years has really been down to him in the space of a few months. As I'm sure you can imagine he was quite skilled at it.'

Harry nodded. 'Why the interest anyway?' Asked the man. 'Voldemort's dead.'

It was Harry's turn to smirk 'Knowing that you've been hiding in Voldemort's shadow all this time makes you sound a lot more beatable.'

'Really?' The man snarled dangerously 'Who says I'm in anyone's shadow?' Harry didn't get chance to respond as he was placed under the cruciatus curse. He didn't hear Trott pleading with the man to stop, all he was focused on was the skull splitting pain in his head and the fire running through every nerve in his body before he once again felt nothing.

Sometime later Harry eventually awoke in the now familiar restraints of his cell. He looked to his right groggily to see Trott, even without his glasses, he could tell she was staring at him. 'H-have you g-gone mad?'

'Don't know what you're talking about.' He replied stiffly.

'Why d-did you h-have to m-make h-him mad for? I honestly th-thought he w-was g-going to kill you.'

'Even after we get out of here' If we get out of here. He didn't feel it necessary to voice his doubts though 'they are going to keep attacking people. We need as much information as we can get so that we can stop them.'

'I-I can s-see that. W-what d-did that get y-you th-though a-apart f-from knocked out?' She stuttered back.

'We learnt more than what you think. For a start off I think we can narrow down where he operates from.'

'H-how, he n-never t-told you anything a-apart from m-meeting T-Tom Riddle after he f-finished i-in B-borgin and Burkes.'

Harry smiled at her 'Yeah and I've got a pretty good guess on where Riddle went once he quit his job and it wasn't to find some man that managed to scare a few muggles. That was purely coincidence. As he said Voldemort didn't need any pointers on being evil.'

'So th-that w-was all a s-setup in th-there?' He nodded 'Th-then what w-was Voldemort l-looking for?'

'Let me explain…' Harry whiled away the next few hours telling Trott everything he knew about Voldemort. Even about himself being a horcrux.

Once he finished his tale Trott just smiled at him as she said 'W-well I-I'm glad I-I'm stuck in here w-with y-you?'

'Why's that?'

'You r-really d-do have n-nine lives.' Harry laughed.

Over the next few days the two of them were subjected to torment beyond their reckoning, they were shown various memories of not only the attack on Casta El Griff but also the earlier one on Lille.

They were horrendous as wizards, witches and werewolves turned up in each town in broad daylight and randomly began attacking. On both occasions the werewolves had taken the potion to transform making them even more dangerous.

It was exactly as Priory had described, a blood bath. The paths were littered with it and there was no discrimination on a target. Anyone breathing could be found at the mercy of wand, tooth or claw.

As they watched, helplessly horror struck, Priory would comment on his favourite moments throughout the attack. Even rewinding parts like some kind of action replay. He spoke endearingly of the blood thirst he could now quench as he revelled in the effect of the "Lycan Potion".

Not even the Aurors were much help when they arrived, they caused the majority who could, to apparate away. The werewolves paid them no mind though and continued their own rampage. They would scatter in as many directions as possible killing as they fled the area. The Aurors, who had no choice apart from to follow, were then all ambushed. Some bitten, others stunned, the majority killed.

All in all it was brutal, the Hogsmeade attack was obviously a well thought out strategy that they were continuing to use. Attacking quickly and leaving the Aurors guessing. It was lucky they hadn't finished or used the potion in the Hogsemeade attack, it could have been the end of every Auror in Britain.

One of the nights when both Harry and Trott had managed to fall into an uneasy sleep the doors started creaking open. They both Jolted awake and stared at the figure who walked in. I really didn't want her to turn up. It was bad enough with Priory and Blade during the day, what the hell is she going to do to us.

Roza walked over to Harry, staring at him hungrily, she could smell the blood from the blows he had been dealt. Even the powerful smell of the infection manifesting itself in several of the more severe wounds didn't make her falter.

She forcibly turned his head to face her with her long, pale fingers on his chin. He tried to resist, even though he knew it was futile. She would have more physical strength when he was feeling at his best never mind after the best part of two weeks torture.

'Ah, I zee there iz ztill zome fight in you.' Laughing she released him from the chains and dragged him from the cell herself. She took him to the torture chamber, ignoring his cries of pain, then threw him to the floor.

'Before we begin, I have a question for you.' Harry didn't respond to this, just tried to mentally prepare himself for whatever pain was about to come. There was no way he was siding with them, even if it would stop the attacks.

'Why didn't you kill any vampirez in your ezcape? Particularly the young onez we had bitten?' That to say the least got his attention. Is it possible for a vampire to ask a question shyly?

'It iz quite pozzible yez.' She told him almost amusedly. She must be reading my mind. He thought panicked trying to throw up his occlumency barriers, which even now he struggled with.

'No dear you are zpeaking out loud.' This time she was definitely amused. I must be hallucinating, she's not real.

Sensing something was wrong for the first time she called one of the vampires she had come with and quickly whispered instructions in his ear. Her colleague soon returned with Trott in tow, she looked around confused when she wasn't thrown to the ground, then she saw Harry rolling around muttering to himself.

'What iz wrong with him child?' Asked Roza softly.

'H-he's been t-totured,' Trott replied, stepping backwards from the vampire as she did so. 'His w-wounds a-are infected.'

'Then I will azk you. Why didn't he kill any vampirez in hiz ezcape from our coven? Particularly the young onez we had bitten?'

Trott eyed her like a trapped sheep eyeing a wolf before responding. 'H-he's no k-killer. T-the c-children y-you b-bit were better with you, you c-could g-give them a l-life we couldn't.'

'What do you mean?'

'Vampires a-aren't sh-shunned as much as w-werewolves in f-fact you a-are p-pretty m-much the only sentient b-being the w-wizarding world l-leaves t-to your o-own d-devices. Th-Those children c-could be h-happy with y-you.'

Roza pondered this for a moment then pulled out two wands before a wide-eyed Trott. 'We are currently in Romania iz there anywhere zafe we could go until he recovers?' She asked gesturing at Harry.

Trott was too stunned to think, was this really a way out? 'Quickly my dear we don't have long!' Roza urged.

Thinking it was worth the risk Trott started thinking, she didn't think the ministry would be the best place to turn up and she didn't have a clue where it was either. Something about Romania stirred a memory that she couldn't quite see.

'Umm, I don't kn-know.' She thought allowed frustratedly 'W-What w-was it?'

'Charlie,' came a soft voice from the ground. She looked down to see Harry fervently muttering something about someone called Charlie.

'Ch-Charlie wh-what does… Oh' She whirled round to the vampire 'C-can y-you g-get us to th-the Romanian d-dragon reserve? W-we n-need t-to s-see Charlie W-Weasley.'

'Can you fight?' Trott nodded. 'Good because he can't.' Roza snapped her fingers and her colleague came back into the room. 'I'm sorry dear you will need to carry that one.' She said gesturing at Harry. She then passed the wands to an astonished Trott 'We're getting you out of here.'

Trott pointed her wand at Harry who, in his delusional state was doing his best to fight against the vampire's help, not that he was winning of course. 'Stupefy'.