Catching Lightning in a Firewhisky Bottle Chapter 6: Heat, a harry potter fanfic

Don't own Harry Potter. Un-betad, therefore read at your own risk.

Catching Lightning in a Firewhisky Bottle

by WriteAlong

Chapter 6: Heat

. . . . .

Catch lighthing in a bottle - to do the impossible

The streets were dark, cold and quiet.

The few people that wandered had a clear destination in mind, a place to warm up and enjoy some company. Even though only a few weeks had passed, people were still celebrating the fact that Voldemort had finally fallen. After so many years of hiding and distrust, having felt the rush of celebrating together on the streets, many had gotten somewhat addicted to the warm company that it had provided.

For this reason, the bar The Two Broomsticks had gotten even more popular than ever before. Nearly every half hour, people entered. At the moment, another pair of visitors had just reached the door of said establishment.

"Finally, I really need a drink." The first man exclaimed.

"Liar. I have noticed the way you have been staring at Rosmerta lately." His friend standing behind him mused.

Rosmerta's admirer eyes widened as his hand wavered on the doorknob. "I have no idea what you are talking ab-"

The man wasn't able to finish his sentence, as without any warning, the wooden door of the entrance slammed open and right into a visitor's face.

The admirer was flung back before he staggered blindly as he reached for his possibly broken nose. Eyes tightly shut as pain hit his senses. His friend barely managed to catch him in his arms. Seeing as the pair of them was occupied – one having his eyes closed from the pain and the other looking at his friend in his arms – they didn't see the drunken figure practically barge right into them. A second later the three of them slammed into the ground and groans followed.

"What the fuck?"

"Bloody Hell!" The victim, still grabbing his nose, cried and opened his eyes to find their attacker. "Whisky?!" He groused. "Ya stupid drunk!"

Said momentarily disorientated drunken figure glanced at the bald man lying on the ground with a confused look in his eyes. "B'ldy?" He slurred in a distracted manner, as if barely recognizing the man as the frequent visitor that often sat at the bar with him. Quickly, the drunk seemed to dismiss the accident and struggled back to his feet. "S'rry, gotta go!"

Just as the words registered in 'Baldy's' head, Whisky took off in a stumbled run

"Baldy? You think you can bloody run off like that?" Said man yelled as he quickly stood up, ready to chase after him. He cursed when he didn't see any trace of him. No sigh of him in the streets. No footsteps in the snow. Nothing. It was as if he had simply vanished.

Odd.

"Where the hell did he go?" Baldy demanded his amused friend, before gratefully accepted the handkerchief from the man who simply shrugged at him. He gingerly touched his painful nose. Yup, his nose was bleeding. Bloody hell.

"No clue. You know, maybe he did you a favor, now you can ask Rosmerta to fix your nose." His friend placated him with a suggestive smile, causing Baldy to smirk and drag him inside.

"Quick, let's go in before it stops bleeding!"

He didn't catch the way his friend rolled his eyes at him.

In an alley not far from the Two Broomsticks, Harry skidded to a halt and leaned heavily again the wall. His drunken demeanor had vanished as soon as he had ducked into the empty alley. The previous fall and his actions had barely crossed his mind as he had rushed over here. He could now only focus on the increasing heat coming from the emergency coin located in his pocket. He had to go as soon as possible.

Harry had experience with that horrible curse. Every minute could make a difference.

With that in mind, after a quick inspection for any witnesses near the abandoned alley, Harry took a deep breath and produced his wand. A second later a brilliant light surrounded him and the familiar figure of Prongs circled him, his hoofs crunching the snow beneath him. Harry smiled slightly at the sight.

"Please go out and warn our little spy Prongs. Only approach him if he is alone. He will need to lower the shields. If he is not, return to me." He told the animal and watched it bow before it rushed out of the alley, towards its target.

Step one complete.

With another quick glance of his surroundings, the wizard held out his hands in front of him and started muttering things under his breath. The air surrounding him started to swirl around him, creating a whirlwind of snowflakes. The temperature dropped considerably and his warm breaths clouded the air in front of him. His glamour shivered slightly as an odd magic within him spiked. The moment he felt his spell being completed, his hand grabbed at the air. He smiled lightly when the cloak once again answered his summon. That was step two, now onto the next step.

While he covered himself with the cloak, Harry yanked on a cord on his neck, producing a tiny bag on a cord.

"Infinate incartum."

The bag enlarged between his hands and within seconds he jammed his arm into the opening. Reaching in with his whole arm into the tiny bag – as if it were a 'muggle' magic hat – he rumbled through the different objects within. Deciding that the two seconds were taking too much time, he focused on the object he was searching for.

"Accio Sober-up."

He felt a tiny bottle hit his hand and quickly withdrew his arm. With a fluid movement the wizard uncorked it with his thumb and knocked back his head. He threw the empty bottle back into the tiny bag and returned it to its previous shrunken state around his neck.

Step three complete.

How long would he need to lower the wards, he wondered. Two minutes tops? With gritted teeth he forced himself to wait another minute, before he decided that Prongs must have returned by now if he hadn't been able to relay the message.

The spy was quick and efficient afer all. He should have lowered the shields by now. Turning his back to the opening of the alley, Harry's hand found its way to the coin in his pocket, ignoring the way it nearly burned into his skin.

Breath in. Breath out. Also... Don't splinch.

He apparated without a sound.

Rationally, Frank Longbottom knew that they couldn't have been torturing him more than half an hour, but for him it felt like an eternity already.

"Where are you hiding the Dark Lord?" A sharp voice cut into his brain, demanding to be answered.

The question had gotten old a long time ago.

"He's dead!" He managed to grit out, still gaining a feeling of satisfaction from seeing the man's eyes becoming even more furious behind that ugly mask of his. Frank told himself that the little bit of extra pain was more than worth it.

"Liar!" A woman screeched – he had recognized Bella the moment she had yelled at him – and he was down once again. His whole body shook as he tried to reign in the pain, but he found himself unable to. Vagualy he remembered his conversation with Alice concerning giving birth.

Alice. Oh Alice. He could focus on her.

He tried to roll with the horrible pain. Don't fight it... it will only get worse. He remembered telling Alice the same thing while seeing her giving birth. He should take his own advice. However, he found that he couldn't. He wasn't made to bear children - wait where did that thought come from? That didn't make sense. He was losing it already? Was that his first slip?

Maybe it was. He could hear the screams that fell from his lips, he could feel himself buckle down against the chains in attempt to escape the pain. 'Please stop' His mind started to plead. It nearly slipped from his lips, but he managed to keep it in.

He preferred to go insane than to beg them for anything.

These thoughts reassured Frank that his determination was still strong, but the pain was starting to become unbearable. So much that he barely could think straight. Good. If he couldn't think straight then he wouldn't accidently spill anything important. He just had to keep focusing on one tiny thing.

"Legimancy!"

Keeping those damn walls strong - Frank gritted his teeth as he felt his occlumency walls quiver dangerously.

"Is poor little Longbottom slipping?" Bella sung with glee, her wand out. Yes, that bitch was enjoying this very much. The way her eyes sparkled with glee at the sight of his pain nearly made Frank pity her. As it was, he could only despise her as he panted heavily. His whole body shuddered.

She leveled her wand on him once again – she was ready for the next round.

Frank wasn't and as much as he hated it, Bella was right. He was slipping. He had felt his awareness fall away for a second and it scared him very much.

"Legimancy!"

Once again, Frank blacked out for a moment and his head pounded. How many minutes had passed now? He couldn't be sure. He felt too tired to open his eyes as he listened to their bickering. Was there a way to kill himself? He silently wondered.

"Nothing. He managed to kick me out at the last moment." One of them man growled.

"Don't worry darling, he is slipping alright. It won't take too long. Perhaps we should go after his wife? She always seemed to be the soft one."

Alice.

No.

"You will keep your fucking hands off her!" He growled venomously at them, straining against the chains that kept him in position.

"Oh dear, did you say something wrong?" One of the man mused with glee. Bella laughed with him.

"You still have some fire in you, don't you? Let's see how long it will take for you to beg me to kill you." She said airily as if she were merely teasing him.

As if she wasn't torturing him and threatening his family! Bitch!

Frank's was unable to turn his heated emotions into a sentence. Only a dangerous snarl escaped his throat. Surprisingly, a wave of magic followed, forcing the four people to stumble back slightly.

It only took a second for them to return his favor.

With another round of 'Crucio', Frank slowly felt himself lose the ability to think straight. The next round, his orientation was gone as he suddenly found himself with his face again the cold stone. Frank's mind swirled. He couldn't focus properly. His eyes fell upon the chains on his arms and the blood that slid down his hands. It slipped between his fingers. Slipping.

Just like his thoughts seemed to slip through his fingers.

"I managed to get in for a second but his thoughts are too chaotic. Maybe we should take a break and try again after an hour?"

Alice. He managed to hold onto that thought.

Neville.

He felt himself being dragged up. His head lolled slightly before two icy cold hands pinched his face painfully. He could vaguely recognize Bella's eyes behind the mask. She was talking to him, but he couldn't listen. His mind was too focused on Alice and Neville. He grunted when a slap shook him out of his thoughts, but he still refused to listen as his mind suddenly focused on a nearly painful burning feeling at his heart.

The coin was practically burning in his inner pocket. Wait - what coin?

Woosh.

Bella quickly pushed him back against the wall. Frank groaned as his head took a hit and his ears rang. His body quivered from the strain. He wondered how long he would manage to keep this up, before his thoughts slipped again. He couldn't keep track of his thoughts anymore.

That was a bad sign, wasn't it?

"Ssssh!" Bella hissed to everyone. "Someone's here."

"Where?" One of the death eaters scoffed.

"Ssssh!" The woman hushed him with a dangerous look as her wide scanned the room with suspicion.

The open door behind them creaked.

"You are hearing things." The words slipped from his lips before Frank could do anything about it.

"Crucio!"

Frank mentally prepared himself for the next round, but the pain never started. Surprised - and dare he say scared - he flinched as a stone exploded in from of him.

Now all the four death eaters were on guard and circled their target. Wands out in front of them, they glared into the darkness of the empty cell. From the corner of his eyes, Frank saw a shadow form. He must be hallucinating, he thought as it's reaper's form turned to him and seemed to wave.

He blinked and its resemblance was gone.

"Looking for me?" A voice whispered, sounding slightly slurred - or was it a drawl?

The four death eather turned to one of the corners and attacked. Curses upon curses rained down. Stones exploded as the colorful lights came in contact with the wall. Debris fell to the ground and they waited edgily until the smoke had dispersed.

Nothing.

"You have all fallen too far into the darkness." A voice, echoed through the cell. It was difficult to tell from where the voice came from.

The group growled and once again moved to attack, these time aiming cutting curses to cover the entire area of the cell. They waited for the sound of pain, for blood or a body to drop, but it seemed that they had -

"Missed again." The voice seemed to mock them.

"Show yourself, coward!" Bella hissed, before she turned around and leveled her wand at Frank once more. "Or he will get it."

There was a long wary silence and Frank's mind absently took comfort in the fact that Bella's hand was trembling slightly. The witch tensed, her knuckles turned white as the man's voice suddenly spoke directly to her.

"You too, Bella. But don't worry, I won't deal with you… Yet. I have other plans for you."

The door creaked once again. One of the death eaters took a step forward and shot a few nasty curses into the door's direction.

"There!" Bella cried as she thought saw some dust on the floor move and turned her own curses into that direction. The others followed her lead. Every inch from the cell must have been hit with at least one spell - including a few killing curses - and Frank couldn't help but wonder how any one could survive that so easily.

"Wait!" Bella cried out again, putting her hand up in the air. The others followed her order as they listened carefully for any movement.

"Finished?" The dry voice answered their questioning silence.

The death eaters growled in anger and wariness.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Me?" His voice dripped with amusment. "Don't you worry about me." The voice chuckled. "Worry about yourself."

Chaos erupted as once again the four death eaters chose a side and attacked. Frank tried to watch as he noticed that two of them went down in the middle of their seemingly one-sided fight, One had his wand snatched right out of his hand before being pushed into the array of spells of his comrade. The other had been so surprised by his actions that he didn't notice the red spell come his way.

Seeing their comrades go down so easily alarmed the other two. They turned their backs to each other to keep their guard up. Unfortunately a spell surprised Bella and she was forced to duck. It missed her by a hair, but her parnter hadn't seen it coming. Bella snarled as she saw her last partner fall down as well. With sense of revenge in mind, she send a cutting hex towards Frank from a close range, whom tensed.

There was no ti-

A pained hiss directly in front of him startled Frank.

"You really shouldn't have done that Bella. Frank, go sleep. It will be alright." The voice growled.

Whatever happened next, Frank wouldn't know as his thoughts seemed to slip away from him and he slept peacefully. His pains momentarily forgotten as he held Alice and Neville in his arms for hours on end.

Knock. Knock.

"James?"

The man in question quickly stepped into the room and turned towards the two women on the bed. Both their eyes were red - Alice's more than Lily's - and their hands turned white as they clenched each others hand in suspense.

"We found Frank... alive." He quickly added with a strained smile. "I will bring you to him."

A strangled and relieved sob escaped from Alice's lips as she quickly stood. She nearly reached James when she turned back to Lily, looking guilty that she nearly forgot one of the little boys that were asleep on her lap.

"Alice, I will keep an eye on Neville." Lily called out to her. "Go."

The woman seemed reluctant for a moment before she nodded. "Thank you. You want me to go to the front yard?"

James nodded as he stepped to the side to let her go through the door at first.

"Are you alright Lil's?" He couldn't help but ask warily.

Ever since the news that she couldn't perform magic - even after many tests, nobody was quite sure what had happened to her core - Lily had been having a very hard time. It worried him to see Lily nearly force herself to accept her... new handicap. At the same time, he was incredibly proud of her that she was taking it so well. Still, he felt like she was pretending to feel better than she actually was.

"Not now, James." Her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Right." He agreed, feeling slightly foolish as he quickly turned to follow Alice.

"I will come to pick you up as soon as possible." He promised.

He didn't notice the way that Lily's smile turned a little brighter. She turned back to the children sleeping on the bed. At least, Harry seemed to be asleep. Neville seemed to have awoken and was staring at her with big confused eyes. She smiled at him as she pulled him onto his feet in front of her. His clumpsy legs wobbily supported him as soon as he straightened them.

They were growing so fast.

"See Little Nev, I told you your Daddy would be fine?" Lily assured him.

The baby simply blinked at her.

"D'ddy?

Lily froze. Alice hadn't told her that Neville had spoken yet. Had this been his first word? Oh gosh!

With a stern expression, Lily pointed a finger towards the baby on her lap.

"Neville, you are going to listen very carefully to Auntie Lily. I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that alright! Then as soon as your father wakes up and your mother is right next to him, then you can say your first D'ddy word. Do you understand?"