Chapter Eleven Azkaban
They disapparated from the street in front of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Neither Snape or Harry saw the rat hidden in the hedges; it's sharp little eyes watching carefully. It was dark and the meeting was still going on when they left.
The address Slughorn had given him was in London and not far from where they had disapparated.
"Do not be surprised if he doesn't show up," Snape said and then added, "and do not be surprised if he does; be on guard. He is not to be trusted."
Harry had already drawn his wand and was surveying the dark street. It was a street of small shops and the interiors were dark. He was not surprised to discover they were in a street of shops that sold very high quality items. After all, he thought, that's your goal in life; to have riches and be among the rich; and added a thought, and famous- whether they are evil or not. Your loyalty changes with the slightest breeze, doesn't it, Professor Slughorn? he thought bitterly.
They walked up the quiet street and stayed near the stark, blank windows and away from the few lamps lining the street.
"I know this place," Snape said in such a soft voice Harry would have missed it if he had not been standing so close. "There is a shop here that is an entryway into our world."
Harry nodded and continued to study the street and look for the 1415, the number of the building. He saw it across the cobbled street and nudged Snape who looked over at it.
"Yes, that's it," Snape said and looked both ways up the street, looked overhead to the building tops and then stepped across. They had both worn muggle clothing thinking they would not be obtrusive in a muggle neighborhood. It was obvious they would not be needed and Snape turned to him and touched him with his wand and then himself. Their clothes were immediately transformed into wizarding robes. As a matter-of fact they were dressed very well and Harry stared down at himself for a moment and then at Snape who looked very well dressed; much more so then had ever looked at school.
"Malfoy's neighborhood," he said in response to the unasked question. "They dress well there."
Snape studied the street once again and then reached out and pulled open a door by it ornate handle. They both stepped into complete darkness, so deep it almost felt like a cloth had been pulled over their heads. Harry reached back and felt the knob of the door for reassurance that they had not dropped down a well or stepped into a closet.
"Lumos," Snape said and a tiny light erupted from the tip of his wand.
Harry was not surprised to see an empty shop, the walls were bare of anything but a few empty shelves, a counter was also bare and one door other than the one they entered. It had long been uninhabited for there was an inch of dust on the floor and spider webs in the corners. It was two minutes until the hour of ten which was the time written on the letter. Before leaving the Black mansion they had agreed on a plan and it was put into action.
Harry pulled the invisibility cloak from his bag and covered himself and hid behind the counter and waited. They wanted Slughorn to meet with Snape first, to see his reaction and find out what his purpose truly was.
The door opened at exactly ten o'clock and the portly figure of Horace Slughorn stepped through. He was alone; and surprised. "Snape! ...uh...Severus," he mumbled. "What...what are you doing here?"
Snape held his lit wand up to illuminate Slughorn's face. "I have been summoned to Lucius' house. I might ask you the same, Horace."
"Oh...oh, yes, well, I am on an errand for him myself."
"And what would that concern Horace?" Snape asked, his voice dripping with honey. He stepped closer and Harry could see Slughorn cringe a little at the close proximity.
"Oh...can't say Severus. HIS business you know. Uhm...best be moving on then." Slughorn sidestepped Snape who did a little dance with him and once again confronted him. Snape was now very close and Slughorn made the mistake of looking up and into Snape's eyes.
"Legilimens," Snape said firmly.
Harry held his breath. The ex-Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher froze, his eyes returned Snape's stare and it appeared he also had taken in and held his breath.
It was only a moment and then Snape stepped back and away so the now slightly foggy Slughorn bustled by and slipped out the front door without saying anything more.
Snape remained standing in his small circle of his own wand light and then quietly said "Nox."
Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to do until he heard the deep voice in the darkness.
"Potter stay here and do not move; do not remove the cloak and do nothing. I must leave and I will return in five minutes. If I am not back in that time, whatever you do, do not return to the Black mansion if you value your life!"
He turned on his heels and stepped to the door and was out before Harry tore the invisibility cloak from his sweating face. He was at a loss as how to react and decided the best course of action would be to remain where he was and follow orders until Snape returned. If the man failed to show up in exactly five minutes then he would go through the front door.
What's happening back at the house? he wondered and felt an icy grip on his chest. The whole Order was there; at least everyone left. Lupin had yet to initiate Ron and Hermione and they were about to perform the ceremony just before he and Snape left.
He breathed in the dust cloud stirred by their feet and waited, not having any way to know how much time was going by. He began to count slowly, hoping he could keep track of the minutes. And then there was a noise in the dark and he threw the cloak over himself and ducked down behind the counter once again. This time is was the door that Slughorn had arrived in, creaking open once again.
This time Harry was surprised by the two men who walked through. One was unfamiliar. he had seen him once in a flash as the Death Eater flew through the halls of Hogwarts while Harry dodged his spells. It was the blond man who was now following Lucius Malfoy through the door, holding his lit wand, and Malfoy was talking.
"Wormtail just sent word. We should have them all now," he looked excited and happy. "The Dark Lord will be very pleased and I shall be the first to report to him that we were successful."
The other nodded and kept his head bowed slightly when Malfoy turned to him. "Your idea of watching the muggle girl was inventive, masterful, my Lord Malfoy."
Malfoy seemed to enjoy the words and then touched the other on the arm. "Now, now, Carrows, I am not a Lord. Our powerful master would admonish us both harshly if he heard you speak in such a way."
"But it is true. You are a great man." The other simpered and bowed again slightly.
"Well perhaps he will call himself a prince and I shall become a lord," Malfoy smiled pleasantly. "However, our duty is to make sure nothing goes wrong this time. We want the Potter boy and this time there will be no mistakes."
They exited through the front door leaving a trail through the dust with their cloaks. Harry groaned in despair. Whatever they had done, whatever plan they had carried out, he knew could mean only one thing, disaster. All he could do was wait. He had forgotten to continue to count and so had lost track of time. The invisibility cloak was stiflingly hot and he was literally in the dark.
The sound of the door opening again brought him up to peer over the counter. It was Snape.
"What is it?" he asked shooting out from around the counter to meet him at the door.
Snape was lightening quick and had his wand pointed at him before he had crossed the room. Harry waited and his arm dropped. "They took the house," Snape said with a hint of anger. "Death Eaters raided the Black Mansion and everyone is gone."
Harry staggered back in horror. "Who...who was left there?"
Snape pulled him by the arm almost gently towards the door and into the street. "Keep yourself together, Potter. We are also in danger. However we are also the only ones who are free right now."
Harry looked up and down the street and waited with his back again Snape's.
"I will assist you to apparate," Snape said quietly and he reached around his back and gripped Harry's. They immediately disapparated.
...
Snape opened the door of the cell and motioned for Lily to join him. She had not been conscious when she had been captured and moved to the cell and so had no idea where they were. They climbed the stairs of the dungeon and then there were more stairs and as they climbed higher she felt a sense of dread which made her shiver.
"Severus? Where are we?" They stopped at a junction and she clung to his robes and tried to gather warmth from him. He held her close and put an index finger to his lips.
He mouthed the words, "Azkaban."
Azkaban! she thought and looked around her in every direction in fear. We are in the wizarding prison? Why? Why here?
He put his arm around her and together they walked down a long corridor. He shielded her from the rooms opening up on the hallway and the sights within. She felt weak from the torture and leaned on him. They had not run into Dementors yet and she felt helpless without a wand. Snape held one in front of him and hurried them along, and at one point put his arm around her and lifted her off her feet.
"I am going to transfigure you into a cat and put you in this basket to take you out,"
Snape said and pulled her into a room; an abnormally large and filthy kitchen. "Neither of us will survive if even one person sees you with me," he said.
She nodded and kneeled on the floor in exhaustion.
"You have to help me, Lily. I'm not very good at transfiguration and I could turn you into something...terrible."
She smiled and patted his hand and rose to her feet. "We can't have that." She took the wand and studied it. "It was his ebony and ivory wand and had a rose carved into the handle. The rose was entwined with a thorny briar. How appropriate, she thought. A man who's heart is surrounded by thorns. "I will begin the spell and then you must complete it. Severus? Won't the Dementors sense me?"
"They don't sense animals very well since the emotions and thoughts are crude," he answered and was watching the hallway and turning to her. His face was covered in perspiration and she could tell he was terrified. She understood completely. She thought her heart would burst open from pumping so hard.
She turned the wand on herself and pointed, concentrating on the transfiguration spell. Suddenly she felt herself shrinking, her body growing small and taut. She watched in fascination as her hands turned to paws and her vision changed until it was sharp and her sense of smell acute. She felt the human pick her up and she was suddenly dropped into a basket and the top crammed down on her. She snarled and hissed and put out one paw with razor sharp claws to scratch the man's hand. It drew blood.
...
Harry sat on a chair near the window where sunlight poured over him. He was angry and worried. They had found a place to stay very near Diagon Alley. He had paced the room through the night as Snape sat at the table and remained silent until near dawn.
"You should rest while you can," he said.
"Rest!" Harry spit and then hurled himself on the chair and gripped the sill of the window and stared into the street below.
"We have work to do and it will take all the strength we have."
"What do you plan to do?" Harry asked and tried to calm his ever growing fear.
"We need to get the Horcrux from the Gringott's vault before the goblins side with The Dark Lord and his followers. Then we need to go to Azkaban."
Harry's eyes drifted to the Daily Prophet laying open on the dirty bedding of the bed. The headlines read: Underground Group Found with Dark Magical Objects, The Ministry Demands They Be Executed. Below the Headlines a group of witches and wizards were lined up against a wall. They included Hermione, Ron, Arthur and Molly Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody and worst of all, Harry thought, in great horror, Ginny Weasley.
Other headlines read; Group Leader Werewolf! and Ex-Aurors Now into Dark Magic.
Harry discovered as he read that Ministry wizards had found books and parchments laying all over the house dealing in dark magic and knew also there had been much more planted there after Voldemort's Death Eaters had raided the house before they informed the Ministry.
"Will they execute them without a trial?" he asked for the tenth time.
Snape waved a hand wearily. He had answered twice and was now beyond his patience.
"Alright then tell me this," Harry said and began to pace again. "Have you ever been to Azkaban? Hermione told me once no one had ever escaped except Sirius. Is that true?"
"Not exactly," Snape said. "No one is sure how he escaped."
"I know how he got out," Harry said and spun around to face him. He licked his lips and stared at the faces in the paper again. Hermione looked as if she were crying and Ron was as pale as Harry had ever seen him. He allowed himself to look directly at Snape and told him how Sirius had gotten out of Azkaban and how he had been rescued from certain death from the Dementors.
It was Snape's turn to stand and pace the room, turn now and again to stare and glare at Harry and then to move around the room in the opposite direction. An hour later he finally stopped and turned to him. "He is not the only one to escape. I helped your mother escape Azkaban. It was the Dark Lord's fortress and home. He held her prisoner there. He provided victims for the Dementors and in exchange he was allowed the freedom of the castle."
Harry dropped into the chair in astonishment and felt a slight sense of relief. "We can go rescue them."
Snape stopped and stared at him. "That is not possible."
"Yes, it is possible," Harry said and frowned at him.
"No."
"YES!" Harry said and stood. "I will not leave my friends there to die. You know how to get in and out so that is where we will go."
Snape put his hands on his hips, his elbows out and he looked more like a great bat then a human when he did it. He shook his head slowly. "The Dark Lord has set a trap. He wants you there so he can kill you."
"What does it matter?" Harry argued. "We will meet eventually."
"I think it's time you learn to be a warrior," Snape said. "Don't rush towards your fate headlong without thinking it through, Potter. We need to destroy the Horcruxes. If we are lucky, the information to do it was left behind. It will weaken him and make him more vulnerable."
Harry studied his face and saw a hint of fear there. The man was an enigma to him. "My mother didn't say how you helped her escape."
Snape's face softened at the mention of his mother. "It was very much like Black's escape. I transfigured your mother into a cat."
Harry's eyebrows shot up and he waited and then said, "Really?"
Snape nodded and said, "She was a cat through the first part of the journey."
"The first part?" Harry asked. "They are right then. The prison is on an island out to sea. You had to apparate? Go by boat?" he waited and there was no answer. He tried again, "Swim?"
Snape shook his head and sat down once again, this time almost slumping with fatigue. "One cannot apparate, there are shields to stop it. A boat cannot reach the shores. A man cannot walk away from the fortress, the terrain is a deadly maze."
Harry thought about what he was saying. He knew Sirius had transformed into his animagi, the black dog and had eluded detection. He had never talked about anything else. "So...how...?"
Snape looked over to him. "YOU must fly out!" He shrugged and leaned back against the chair and closed his eyes. "It is the only way to escape the Dementors if you don't have a wand."'
"Really?!" Harry said and sat down at the window again.
"Yes, really, Potter," Snape's head was back and he fell asleep with the last word on his lips.
Harry watched him until his eyes began to move beneath the lids. He took a quill and a slip of parchment from his bag and wrote a short note and then walked on the balls of his feet past Snape and to the door.
SO I need to fly there, Harry thought. He opened the door, checked back to hear a faint snore like a purr and he was through the door and into the hallway. Buckbeak! He's at the Black mansion in his old room. Would the Death Eaters or the Ministry wizards know he was there? Maybe they found him when they searched the house or maybe they didn't.
He turned once to look at the door. "Good luck destroying those Horcruxes, Snape."