Chapter 17 - Misleading Information

Harry figured he had to have walked at least a kilometer. There was still no apparition spot and he was growing increasingly impatient with each passing step he took. He was in the middle of a thick, snow covered forest with no end in sight. In a pathetic attempt to possibly gage his location, he looked up towards the sky. The complete deficit of leaves allowed the lingering winter solstice to blind his eyes, causing him to return his focus back to the ground where the accumulating ankle deep snow had consumed him feet.

Whoever had drawn the anti-apparition zone obviously didn't want him to leave.

Forty-five minutes after his initial departure he was cold, lost and thoroughly frustrated. The snow was falling at a fast and steady pace, adding at least another inch to ground in the short time span. Being alone in the middle of nowhere during a blizzard was not exactly Harry's idea of a good start to an imminently terrible day.

The only way this could get worse was if some large animal decided to attack him.

That thought only succeeded in making him paranoid.

Turning back became the very inviting idea that he fought with every ounce of willpower he had. Even if he had decided to go back, his tracks had probably been covered with a fresh blanket of snow.

He stopped to lean against a tree, hoping that directional instinct would find him.

That's when he noticed how unnervingly quiet it was.

With no sense of direction, he began walking again. The creaking sound of undisturbed snow under his feet drowned out the daunting silence surrounding him. It wasn't enough to quell the growing anxiety within him. He needed to get out of there for his sanity's sake.

He quickened his pace to a brisk walk, trying to apparate every minute or so. Even if he found an apparition spot, he would have no idea how to get back upon his return…if there would be one. He really wished he had just followed the dirt road in front of the temporary house.

Another fifteen minutes passed and he found himself sitting on a large rock, feeling quite hopeless about the situation. To cover the agonizing silence he threw rocks at the trees with his wand. Needless to say that felt quite counterproductive and he ceased after a few rounds.

With a sigh, he forced himself to stand again and continue on. He turned around after a few steps and surveyed his surroundings. Everything looked as it had since he had left, with the exception of the partially snow-covered rock he had been sitting on. With the image now burned into his head, he closed his eyes and pictured Grimmauld Place.

The unpleasant feeling of being suffocated was almost immediate and definitely unexpected. Just as he thought he would pass out due to the lack of oxygen, he found himself in the living room he had just pictured. He fell to the floor due to his lack of balance, which provoked a sudden movement from the couch facing the fireplace. He looked up to find a familiar red-head looking at him from over the couch.

"What the bloody hell took you so long!" Ron said.
"Nice to see you too," Harry said as he stood up, brushing the remaining snow off of him.
"I told you nine, that was four hours ago!"
"No you didn't. You just told me the day in the letter."
Ron's ears reddened. "Well, I was in a bit of a rush writing it. Hedwig wouldn't stop biting me."
Harry smiled as images of his snowy white owl attacking the Demon kid filled his mind.
"Listen Harry, about before, the last few months…" Ron trailed off, his gaze focused on the floor.
"I know…" Harry didn't want to dwell on that subject and went and sat next to him on the couch. "So, how have you been?"
Ron sighed. "I've definitely been better." Harry agreed. "So, where have they been hiding you?"
"I'm not even quite sure of the exact location. I just know it's the middle of nowhere in Scotland and that I probably walked about two kilometers before I could finally apparate." His voice was shaky due to his chilled state.
Ron didn't say anything and was staring at Harry's hand with a look of confusion.
"Y-you…got married!" Ron finally got out, astonished. "I knew you liked the girl, but I didn't think you were actually in love with her…"
Harry started to laugh. He was so used to wearing the fake wedding band that he had forgotten he even had it on. "It's part of the new identity. With the people around there it's just easier to not take it off since they tend to show up completely unannounced."

He neglected to address the other part of Ron's statement, which he didn't seem to notice. Truth be known he wasn't even sure what it was, but he had attempted to figure it out on paper…which she had probably read by now. He started to second guess his decision in some of the words he had chosen to use, berating himself internally for the certain incomprehensible thoughts he had rushed to write. Ron handed him a blanket and made the fire larger.

"Well, it's probably better than what's been happening around here." Harry's expression turned grim and prompted Ron to continue. "It was probably for the best that you disappeared for awhile. At least for the first week that is..."
"How many?" Harry asked flatly. Ron looked at him questioningly. "How many have died?"
"Wizards or muggles?"
Harry groaned at the sinking feeling in his stomach.

Ron began the account of what had gone on since his disappearance over a month ago. The wizarding world went into a frenzy, speculating on why their only hope of getting rid of Voldemort had suddenly run off. A conspiracy theory was formulated at one point, stating that he was working with Voldemort this whole time. While some had called him a coward for fleeing, others feared the worst and thought him to be dead. The most recent headlines had been of his possible suicide or murder.

It turns out that Voldemort was not pleased to learn about his vanishing act and was quite eager to find out where he had run off to. Death Eaters had been sent to possible locations, torturing whoever happened to reside there for information. When these escapades proved uninformative, attacks were then launched in an attempt to lure him out.

And they would have if he had any idea they existed.

Although no muggles had been targeted during these attacks, by-standing ones had been killed. Nine to be exact, along with seven wizards…and it would've been more if the Order hadn't have shown up, which Ron had been inducted into on a preliminary basis. After this is when Hedwig had been sent with the letter for him. Fred and George had decided to test out a new product on her that rendered her invisible after eating it, though it was not known how long it lasted since she had shown up quite visible to Harry.

An assault on the Weasley family had taken place the week prior. This resulted in a two day stay at St. Mungo's for Fred to repair some broken bones and a four day stay for Ginny due to the entrail-expelling curse being cast on her. Ron then began to speak of Tonks. Apparently Lupin had just gone missing and she was worried sick, not to mention everyone in the Order. They had been so busy covering up Harry's tracks that Lupin's safety had become somewhat neglected.

Harry's stomach dropped again, the guilt he seemed to have forgotten about started to rise. He couldn't bear to listen anymore and stopped Ron from continuing.

Ron made a subject change. "I was expecting Brooklyn to come too."
Harry sighed. "I wouldn't let her."
"I bet that went over well."
"I could've gone much worse."
"What'd you say to convince her?"
Harry looked to the side, hesitating before responding. "I promised I'd come back for her."

There was deafening silence for a few minutes and he felt like he was in the forest again. It only reiterated the high likelihood that something would go horribly wrong.

"You will, mate. You will." Ron sounded as though he had just condemned himself to a death sentence. When Harry finally turned to face him, it looked like he had too.
"I don't want you sacr-"
"So, do you have any idea where Ginny might have gotten this lead from?" Ron not so obviously cut him off.
"Haven't the faintest idea…you?"
Ron shook his head. "She won't break. I've lost count of how many times I've asked her."
"And you actually thought she would tell you if you just asked?" Harry asked skeptically.
"It was worth a shot." He shrugged. "Do you actually think one will be there?"
"Honestly, that was one place I wasn't expecting one to be, but maybe that was just me never wanting to go back there…"
"We can always look someplace else, you don't have to go back there."

The offer was very tempting. More tempting than Harry imagined it to be. The last thing he wanted was Cedric Diggory haunting his dreams again, asking him why he hadn't just taken the cup alone like he had told him to….

"Harry?"
He broke from his aggrieved musings. "This is last time. Never again after this."

The finality in his voice earned nod from his friend with no further questions regarding that matter.

It was more than obvious that neither of them were looking forward to departing. The fact that they struck up an hour long catch-up conversation was a testament to this. Ron found his faux life highly amusing and made sure to taunt him about it properly, especially about the recent babysitting and dinner disaster. It was after a good, much needed laugh that they both made eye contact, the serious nature of what had to be done immediately returning.

"I guess I'll be holding onto your arm then…" Ron trailed off.
Harry nodded and they both stood.
"We're in this together, mate."
"And if we're lucky, maybe we won't die." He heard Ron gulp. "Come on, let's go."

Harry closed his eyes after Ron grabbed onto his arm. He focused solely on the image of the Riddle grave. If he tried anyplace else he would only see Cedric's lifeless body or Death Eaters cheering on Voldemort as he tortured him.

The sudden suffocating feeling meant he was only moments away from stepping into his nightmares.

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Harry didn't open his eyes when he felt the ground reappear under his feet, knowing he was only prolonging the inevitable sight that was before him. Ron let go of him and could be heard taking a few steps, most likely observing their surroundings.

"Why are there ropes on the ground here?" Ron asked curiously.
Harry kept his eyes closed and tried to keep himself from shaking as memories flashed through his mind, remembering how he could barely breathe as the ropes were tied tightly around his neck. "It's…I-I was tied up there. I guess no one bothered to pick them up."
"We can leave…" Ron immediately offered.

When Harry finally opened his eyes, Ron was kneeling on the ground with the weathered ropes in his hand looking genuinely concerned. His eyes traveled upward until the words 'Tom Riddle' greeted them. He rubbed his lightning bolt scar as a dull ache was now present.

A thick haze covered the graveyard, making it difficult to see anything beyond a meter's distance. The grey sky made the mid-afternoon appear more like dusk. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, adding to the monochromatic scheme of things. Ron was now standing, shaking the snow and dirt off of his pant leg while Harry's attention was drawn to the barely visible area where Cedric's body had lain.

If only he had listened to him…

Ron put his hand on his shoulder, shaking him slightly while calling his name.

Harry hung his head and sighed with knowing defeat. Even though he had escaped, Voldemort had won the small battle that night. His consolation prize had been being named the winner of a tournament he never even entered.

Rationality told him that it wasn't his fault and he had finally embraced that concept, but his unconscious mind would taunt him while he slept. It always would. Regardless, he couldn't change what had happened and he could only hope that one day his unconscious would come to this understanding.

"I hate this place." Harry stated, fairly emotionless.

No one but him would ever know how much of an understatement that actually was. Except maybe Brooklyn, who had actually gotten him to talk about it after one of his brooding sessions. She had said that ever since he learned he would have to be going back there, he had been thinking about it more often, not to mention incessantly talking in his sleep about it, and if he didn't talk about it before actually going it would only make the situation that much worse upon arrival.

It was the first time he had talked about the incident in that amount of detail with anyone since he had to relive it for the interview with Rita Skeeter that got published in The Quibbler during fifth year. It was actually the first time he had ever talked about it in a non-detached mode. She had somehow made it okay, made it tolerable to speak about, for no amount of time would be able to fully heal how deep this one ran.

But nothing would ever make it bearable to be standing there again. He now had a full understanding of what she must have felt like being back at the orphanage. Mankind would never thank him for returning here for them, he owed her that much for doing so for him. He would find a suitable way to show his gratitude if he made it back, for a mere thank you would not suffice.

Harry turned down Ron's offer to leave and they proceeded to search the graveyard for any sign of something out of the ordinary, anything that might look the slightest bit out of place. He purposefully avoided as much of the area where the incident had taken place, preferring not to have the flashes of pain-filled memories flood his mind as he touched, or so much as looked at, the provoking object. He could only try to focus on his scar, hoping that it would be an indicator as to whether or not he had come in contact with a part of Voldemort.

They were coming up with nothing.

"What about in there?" Ron said, pointing to the small church near the edge of the graveyard.
"No, Weasley…" A voice said lazily.

Harry's blood ran cold as he knew that voice all too well. Before he could turn around to attack Dumbledore's murderer, he felt the end of a wand digging into the back of his neck.

"Fancied another stroll in the graveyard, eh Potter?" Harry could sense the smirk residing on his school nemesis' face.

Harry said nothing. He glanced to his right and could see Ron standing there wide-eyed and motionless, as another wand was aimed at his back.

"Drop your wands," Snape ordered.

Ron immediately complied and Harry wanted to smack him. He quickly formulated a plan. If he was fast enough, maybe he could deflect whatever curse Malfoy was about to send at him for not complying, temporarily distracting Snape so Ron could pick up his wand. That is if Ron seized the opportunity to do so…

"Are you deaf, Potter?" Malfoy sneered, pushing his wand a little harder into his neck. "Drop it."
"Since when have I ever listened to you, Malfoy?"

He was quick as he ducked and sent a spell that took Malfoy out at the knees. Standing over him, waiting for him to respond, he glanced over at Ron. He was still standing there, only facing him and looking highly confused. It looked like Snape was giving him his wand back.

Maybe he needed a new prescription for his glasses.

"I see you finally figured out the art of nonverbal," Snape said indifferently to Harry.

Maybe he even needed a hearing aid.

"It seems your little girlfriend did not listen to me when I told her to relay the message precisely as it was to you."

Yes, he definitely needed to get his hearing checked out as soon as possible.

"I told you not to use the Weaselette!" Malfoy whined, still not moving from the ground as Harry was not daring to lower his wand. "Even Longbottom wouldn't've messed this up."

Snape was glaring at Malfoy, while Ron was standing idly, gaping at the scene unfolding before him. By then, Harry was thoroughly convinced that he was waiting to wake up from a seriously bizarre dream.

"Potter, for the last time, put your wand down." Snape said impatiently, his wand residing at his side not aimed towards him or Ron.

Harry reluctantly lowered his wand. It came to rest at his side once seeing that neither of them had made any sudden attempts to attack them. He pinched his arm and then his cheek, coming to the realization that he was indeed awake. Needless to say, he was extremely confused by now. As he struggled to form a coherent sentence, Malfoy began to laugh at his futile attempts. Ron was still standing uselessly, gaping at the two adversaries who had suddenly decided to not attack them.

"S-so, you're not going to attack us?" Harry asked stupidly, still trying to grasp the concept.
"You're such an idiot, Potter." Malfoy said. "Don't you think we would've done so by now?"
"Well, what else am I suppose to think!" Harry retorted. After all, he was making a valid point.
"Much like you," Snape started. "Draco has been struggling in learning Occlumency and we needed something staged incase the Dark Lord starts searching for lies. We are not here to attack you."
Harry was not about to start buying into this and was starting to feel quite angry. "Give me one good reason I should believe anything you say. Or did you forget I was there when you killed Dumbledore, who for some reason unbeknownst to everyone trusted you."
"Always the fool, aren't you?" Snape said coolly, only enraging Harry further. "If you actually tried thinking for once, putting the pieces together, things wouldn't have become so difficult."
"Remember telling me that I didn't have the nerve or ability to use an Unforgivable?" Harry raised his wand, pointing it directly at Snape's chest. His voice was beyond menacing. "Care to test that theory?"
Snape's features did not falter. "There is only one I believe you may have the ability to use an Unforgivable against, and it is not me."

Something snapped inside of Harry and he wasn't sure why. At that moment he wanted to do nothing more than to show Snape just how much pain he can cause him, he wanted him to feel as much physical pain as he had felt emotional pain because of what he had done. And if he was lucky, Snape would end in up St. Mungo's by the time he was through.

He briefly turned his sinister gaze to Ron, who obviously did not like the direction this was going. Ron's mouth was moving, but he could not hear him, for he was deafened by his own rage. The Cruciatus Curse was fired. Snape dived out of the way just in time. The curse hit a nearby headstone, shattering it into small pieces, dust escaping into the air.

And to his surprise, neither Snape nor Malfoy were going to retaliate. They had even placed both of their wands into their Death Eater robes. Ron looked like he was about to be ill, surely due to the fact Harry had threatened to use that against him once.

"Are you quite finished?" Snape asked dully. "Or would you prefer to risk drawing attention some more?"
"This better be good," Harry said through gritted teeth. "I will not miss next time."
"Dumbledore knew about Draco's orders to kill him and my Unbreakable Vow with his mother. Natrually Dumbledore did not wish Draco to become a killer, nor wished me or Draco's family to die, so therefore when the time came I was to complete the task."
"A lot of good that did…" Malfoy muttered.
"The Dark Lord killed Draco's mother and had a dementor administer the kiss to his father. Needless to say, Draco isn't much for that side anymore."
Harry glanced at Malfoy, who was glaring at the ground when he spoke. "I don't like you, Potter, that's never going to change. But I'll do whatever I can to help you kill him, seeing as I can't do it myself because of that prophecy."
"What does any of this have to do with my sister?" Ron finally spoke.
"Seeing as Potter here clearly doesn't trust either of us, we needed someone he did to relay a message." Malfoy said. "Someone thought using his girlfriend was a good idea."
Harry decided to not correct them in that matter, seeing as things couldn't be changed and he rather leave Brooklyn out of it.
Snape glared a Malfoy again before speaking. "She obviously figured she knew your dreams better than yourself and gave you a very incorrect location. If she just relayed the message as it was, you would have been able to distinguish between your Department of Mysteries prophetic dreams and the, dare I say, nightmares of what happened here."
"You mean to tell me that I never had to come back here?" Harry asked annoyed.
"That is correct."

Harry felt numb. He had come back here, the place he hated the most, for nothing. To make matters worse, he now had to go back to his second most hated place, the Department of Mysteries. His only guess was that he needed to get into the room that Dumbledore had told him holds the power that Voldemort did not possess and he did. He glanced to his left, seeing the Riddle grave once again. If Ginny hadn't….

"Come on, Ron." Harry said irritably.
"Where do you think you're going?" Snape said coolly.
"Obviously we have to find a way to break into the Ministry now."
"Weasley isn't going anywhere." Malfoy said. "You see, your girlfriend's letter was intercepted before it reached you and she didn't leave much to a Death Eater's imagination. And seeing as I want to be around to watch the Dark Lord fall, one of you has to come back with us."
Ron's face paled considerably. "W-what?"
"You heard me." Malfoy said. He then turned to Harry, "As for you…"
Snape took over. "You're Dark Mark, Potter."
Harry scowled at him, putting an arm across his chest. "What about it?"
"Does it function as a normal one? Did you feel it seven days ago, right before the attack on the Weasley's?" Harry got a sickening feeling as he shook his head. "Then that must be changed."
"Oh hell no!" Harry started to instinctively back away. "No way! It's bad enough it's there, it doesn't need to actually work!"
"It's the only way you will know when meetings and attacks are. The Dark Lord has gone to great lengths to make sure knowledge of this has become impenetrable."
Harry looked to Ron, who nodded. "It's true. The Order hasn't been able to track anything for months."
"There has to be another way!" Harry was panicking, his eyes were already pleading with Snape to spare him.
"Potter…"
"No! I won't do it! Not this!"
"We'll do this the hard way then."

Unexpectedly Malfoy yelled Stupefy!, stunning Ron, while Snape had summoned Harry's wand. Both of them were now advancing on him. He backed up until he felt his back collide with something. He looked down and saw the weathered ropes at his feet. A nauseating sensation swept over him and his only protection was his arms shielding his chest. A feeble pleading to not damn his life any further escaped from his lips.

"Do you really want to be tied to this headstone again?" Snape asked, clearly losing patience.

Harry knew that both of them could easily see the fear in eyes and he wasn't even going to make an attempt to hide it. He was down two against one. He had had worse odds in the past, but he knew he didn't stand a chance, especially without his wand.

He fought against Malfoy's grip on his wrists that were prying his arms away from his chest, holding them at his side. His jacket had been opened and he closed his eyes when he heard the tearing of his shirt fabric, feeling the cool winter air touching the small area of exposed skin. He was vaguely aware that his feet were being stood on.

"It's going to hurt." Malfoy stated, somehow managing to tighten the death grip he had on his wrists. Harry was certain all of the circulation had been cut off by then.

Harry barely opened his eyes. In the distance he could see Ron lying unconscious on the ground, close to where Cedric had been. At least he was only stunned. His attention was drawn to where a wand was now against the mark on his chest. Snape's eyes were focused, his mouth unmoving. Malfoy seemed to be searching for a signal. Harry could only wait.

And then it happened. A slight tingling sensation began and Harry immediately started to struggle, knowing that it was about to get much worse. Malfoy was now leaning his full weight onto one of his shoulders, while Snape used his free hand to put on his other. He might as well have been bound again. His only solace was that he knew it wouldn't be as painful as being tortured by Voldemort.

The pain came in waves. His sharp intakes of breath through gritted teeth at its peak were the only sounds he made. Halfway through he had finally stopped struggling, but this did nothing to ease the restraining. The burning sensation ended, the shirt repaired and he was released. He immediately zipped up his jacket and kept his eyes on the ground.

"What will happen to Ron?" He asked bitterly.
"He will be a prisoner. I'll try to keep him as unscathed as possible, but I can only do so much without rousing suspicion." Snape said. "When the time comes, I'll clear a route for him to escape."
"And when is that time going to be?"
"After you harness the power behind the door."
Harry groaned miserably. "I can't just waltz in there expecting to kill him when there are still parts of his soul out there!"
"Relax, Potter! We're working on the snake!" Malfoy said exasperated. "In fact, we were planning on enlisting Weasel to help with that."

Harry was hoping beyond hope that Dumbledore wasn't completely out of his mind for trusting Snape, for he was placing everything on the line for the little trust he had just given him. He sighed, taking one last look at his friend still lying unconscious. Just as he was going to apparate far, far away, he noticed that Snape and Malfoy had pulled the hood of their robes over their heads, a mask now in each of their hands. There were two vials in Snape's other hand.

Snape handed Harry one of the vials. "Drink this." Harry looked at him as though he had gone completely insane. "I will be taking you to the Weasley's Burrow and by no means are you to discuss what has happened here."
"Still doesn't explain why I should drink this." Harry pointed out.
"It will make you look and feel as though you were under brutal attack." Snape said, clearly becoming annoyed by his resistance. "The other is a sleeping potion that someone will have to give you. You won't want to be awake for long after taking the first one."
"Sounds fabulous…"
"Drink it."

With an annoyed sigh, he emptied the contents of the vial in one gulp.

Malfoy had on the mask and had picked Ron up. Snape nodded at Malfoy and he started to walk towards the edge of the graveyard. Harry noticed a house in the distance on a hill, vaguely remembering it from years ago. He started to feel quite awful. He slowly started sinking to the ground feeling at though he just taken a beating. He looked up at Snape and his eyes were met by ones behind a mask. Trying to stand was now impossible and he remained kneeling, only to find himself falling over seconds later. It was then that Snape picked him up since he could only lye there limply, his body too sore to move.

"You have been to the Riddle house over there in your dreams, Potter." Snape said coarsely. "You will be there physically before this is through."

Harry couldn't reply. It felt like someone had been trying to choke him for the past hour. Again he felt the suffocating feeling of apparition upon him. He realized it was over when he felt his neck arched back at an unpleasant angle and his arms dangling in mid-air.

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He heard Mrs. Weasley answer the door with a gasp. "Harry!" She whispered. "S-severus!"
"Give him this." Snape whispered. "I was never here."

Mrs. Weasley had him levitating in the air when he heard the disapparition crack. He heard the scurrying of feet come down the stairs, accompanied by the horrified gasps and utterances of his name. He didn't bother to try and observe his surroundings, for his eyes seemed to be stuck at the halfway point of rolling back into his head, leaving him with nothing but unstable, half-blocked images. The only thing he was really capable of doing right then was blinking and breathing.

Nobody seemed to comprehend that though as they kept bombarding him with questions, asking him if he was alright, where Ron was, what had happened, if he was even conscious and could hear them. All he wanted was the vial in Mrs. Weasley's hand that contained the sleeping potion. It was when Mr. Weasley asked her what she was holding did he finally end up in Ron's room about to have the potion administered.

Ginny took it upon herself to see that he received it. Through the overwhelming battered-feeling state he was in, he very distinctly remembered why he ended up like this. It could have all been so easily avoided if it hadn't been for her recklessness, her irresponsibility, her need to prove herself as a useful contributor to the group.

But now he had been back there, officially marked there and Ron had been taken prisoner there.

He didn't want her anywhere near him, but the potion had rendered him helpless to do anything about it. He couldn't stop her from picking up his wand, that Snape had placed back into his jacket, that had fallen to the floor. He couldn't stop her from taking off his glasses, shoes and jacket for him, sweeping her hand through his messy hair, tracing along the sides of his face…he couldn't even shudder as her hand wandered over the recently repaired shirt he wore, hoping beyond reason that they wouldn't wander anywhere else, hoping they wouldn't aid him in getting into his usual night attire…

She took his hand in hers and examined it. The ring he was so used to wearing was slipped off and placed next to his glasses and wand on the end table. She then sat him upright and emptied the contents of the vial into his mouth. With every ounce of energy, he swallowed the potion, waiting anxiously for the badly beaten feeling to leave, waiting for the black abyss to take him away from the girl trying so hard to take care of him, hoping he would be able to dream and see another.

She lowered him back onto the bed and he felt the first signs of drowsiness, knowing it wouldn't be long before he entered an altered state of mind.

And just as the covers had been brought up around him, just as he thought it was safe to fade away…

She had slipped in next to him, draping one of his arms around her as she laid her head on his chest, holding onto him as though her life depended on it.

There was no escaping her or the black abyss.