Disclaimer: Still not mine, you'd know if it was, my nametag would read J.K. Rowling and I'd be drinking a Martini in my swimming-pool.
A/N: I'm so happy you're all enjoying the story. Thank you for the amazing reviews! And bisous to my darling beta, Fredrika :D
Sorry for the very tardy update, between my job and the heat from hell, my brain has left for the north pole as it can't seem to put two words together when it's 36°C.
Chapter 17: Unexpected Guest
"Horcruxes? Merlin help us all." Severus breathed out. For the first time ever, the most feared professor that ever stalked the halls of Hogwarts looked vulnerable and didn't give a damn if anyone saw him like that.
"Are you sure?" He demanded suddenly, grabbing Harry roughly by the front of his muggle sweater and shaking the poor boy. Fortunately, the young wizard was used to the man's rough handling and merely looked apologetically at him.
"I'm afraid so. Those we destroyed left no doubt about the owner's identity."
Nobody wanted any clarifications on what that meant. They all felt sick just at the very idea of ripping your own soul, they could do without the details.
"This explains so much." Severus continued, talking mostly to himself as he paced back and forth in the small cottage. "His return, his appearance, the madness... He's not even human anymore. Merlin help us all." He repeated.
"On the bright side, we destroyed the fourth tonight." Harry said. "We found an old ring in an run-down shack near the manor we were at tonight. How many could he have made?"
"Seven." Severus answered automatically, surprising everyone, even himself. "That's just a guess." He added hastily. "The Dark Lord was always obsessed with strong magical symbols. The number seven being the strongest magical number, I wouldn't be surprised if he did just that with his soul, creating six horcruxes in the process. But that doesn't mean he has created that many yet."
"And we have no clue what the others could be. I mean, we were pretty lucky finding the ones we did as it is. We're probably screwed." Harry said, hanging his head, depressed.
"Language." Hermione berated him, from force of habit.
"Yes, mom." He replied meekly. "But I did warn you it wouldn't help Ginny. It was just a coincidence we were all at the manor tonight, although it could have been a good hideout for Voldemort."
Severus snorted at the Gryffindor trying to cheer him up, the brat.
"You haven't had a vision lately, have you?" Hermione asked him, grasping at straws.
"For once, I wish I did. Maybe it would give us some clue as to his whereabouts. But the connection has been quiet since you freed Snape of the Dark Mark." Harry said dejectedly, messing up his hair nervously so it stood in all directions. "And if he's in hiding, the chances he feels strong emotions is next to nill."
"Maybe we could provoke him." Severus said thoughtfully. "Anger him enough that he loses control and forces him to open the connection with Potter. And the best way to do that, it seems, is to sever another Dark Mark."
"Oh, so we just need a Death-Eater, then? Great." Remus said sarcastically.
"What about the spy?" Hermione offered.
"What spy?" The twins asked in unison.
"No!" Harry and Severus exclaimed at the same time, to their horror, before throwing each other measuring glances. Severus didn't know why Potter was reluctant to bring Draco into their plot, but he himself didn't want to make a target of his godson if he could help it, and he could.
"Actually, I have someone handy who would happily depart with his Dark Mark." Severus explained.
The twins, Potter, and even Remus looked at him in horror. They were probably giving credence to Hogwarts' rumour mill that he kept prisoners close by his dungeons to experiment his vilest potions on. He smirked, happy he still had it.
"I'll have to go and fetch him. He has successfully avoided detection by the Dark Lord for the last twenty years but I know where to find him." He told the other WARTs, pulling his cloak back on.
"How is that possible?" Remus quizzed, impressed by the feat that a Death-Eater had left his master's side and lived to tell the tale. He knew Karkaroff had died because he had betrayed Voldemort and tried,unsuccessfully, to hide from his former master's wrath. But the dark wizard knew exactly where he was at all times, like he did for all the other bearers of the Dark Mark. There was no way out of being a Death-Eater, except through death itself.
"You'll understand when you see him." The snarky Slytherin answered cryptically, in a fair imitation of Dumbledore, although he thankfully lacked the twinkling eyes and innocent smile. It definitely wouldn't suit him and would give a whole new meaning to the word "creepy".
The cottage's peace and quiet was disturbed half an hour later when a big black bear burst into the cramped kitchen, although the huge beast barely made it through the small front door. Everybody's first instinct was to leap back in fear and shock, that is, until Severus stepped in next, chuckling at his companion's antics.
"WARTS comrades... and Potter," He added the last reluctantly, with a sneer. "Please meet Regulus Arcturus Black. Reg, meet the sorry bunch that'll allow you back in the world once more."
The bear remained just that, but stood back on his two hind legs and waved a hello with one of his huge front paws. He was undoubtedly an animagus.
"Sirius' brother?" Harry gasped.
The bear gave a nod of his head.
"Oh, I see. Clever." Hermione quipped. She would have never imagined an animagus would be shielded from Voldemort's prodding of his Dark Marks. But after all, it worked against Dementors, and in her mind, Voldemort may as well be classified as such since he bore more resemblances to those soul-sucking creatures than to the average British wizard. He certainly got the whole sucking-happiness-out-of-you thing down to pat. Luckily for Regulus though, not many Death-Eaters were animagi or his ruse may have been found out.
"Yes, yes. Can we skip the small talk and get to work?" Severus snapped, annoyed.
Everybody nodded, waiting for the wizard's instructions. Somehow he had become WARTS' leader in the last hours.
"Potter, you go lie down in that sofa in case you faint so you don't hurt your thick skull somewhere. Reg, go on that rug and transform at the last minute when we give you the okay. Weasleys, you just stay out of the way. Hermione, Remus, are you ready?"
The two Gryffindors were tired of all the stressful events of the night but knew they had to give all they could in order to save Ginny. They stood at each side of the last remaining Black and transformed, noting it both took them a bit longer than usual. Too much energy had been spent already but with too little rest to make up for it. However, Gryffindors were determined people, if anything, although most other Houses prefered to call it stubbornness, pig-headedness or obstination.
Where the bear had been lying just a second prior, now lay a wizard that looked about Remus' age but was undoubtedly Sirius' brother with his long black locks and grey eyes. He would have looked handsome if he didn't resemble a hippy coming from a year long trek in countries that had only a vague notion of what a shower was. Knowing how to handle the deactivation of a Dark Mark now, Hermione's hands and hair immediately latched onto Regulus' left forearm, while Remus pushed the dark tendrils of magic trying to attack her, keeping them at bay. Luckily, it was an easier task this time around, the darkness didn't try fighting back as strongly, maybe because the Dark Mark had not been in use for so long. But it would be enough to deactivate, she considered, as she felt the magical backlash whip her off her feet once more and cancel her patronus form. She berated herself for not anticipating a cushioning charm but at least they had managed to remain conscious, which was a vast improvement over last time.
The twins had been sitting in a corner out of harm's way but were transfixed by the unique spectacle before them. Hearing the other Order members' description of the Patronus Totalus did not give it justice. However, when they saw their Marauder hero, Mister Moony, being flung back in their direction like a stringless puppet, their Quidditch reflexes kicked in and they broke his fall. They were relieved when they saw their former Potions Master had managed to catch the little witch that had been hurled back in the opposite direction.
However, they didn't have long to savour their respective success as they all turned towards the source of a blood-curdling scream. Obviously, they had managed to anger Voldemort and Harry was currently paying the price. His scar was even bleeding, but the raven-haired Gryffindor clenched his teeth and fists in an effort not to make any more sound. Five long, interminable minutes later, Harry opened his pain-filled eyes, panting. Hermione handed him a glass of water while Remus helped him sit up. He was always a bit weak after a vision.
"Well ?" Severus asked impatiently.
All the Gryffindors glared at him.
"No, it's okay." Harry said to appease the tension as he absently wiped off the blood trickling down his brow with his sleeve. "It's important, and we've wasted enough time as it is."
Severus was about to make a scathing retort about how he had been wasting his time while they had been working tirelessly to retrieve his girlfriend, but a well-aimed kick in the shin by the bushy-haired witch prevented it.
"Voldemort is furious, as we expected, but he only cruciated one of his toadies before regaining control." Harry shivered at the memory before resuming. "But more than anger, it was pure terror I could feel through my scar. He's terrified of you, of the patroni... of what it could do to him. Maybe...maybe you're the power I have he knows not."
Everybody knew the prophecy by heart in the Order and they considered the possibilities of what Harry told them.
"Technically it's not your power, but it is yours to wield.' Hermione said thoughtfully. She hated prophecies: depending on how you read them, they could mean anything and their contrary.
"But still, Voldemort is not a dark creature like a dementor or a werewolf, he is only human after all." Remus argued.
"That's not so certain. He has split his soul numerous times, I would say that makes him less than human and darker than most dark creatures." Severus countered.
"Not to mention that he reeked of dark magic when he appeared before me in Diagon Alley, worse than the little spoon, and that was pretty vile already." The witch added.
"So what does that mean?" Charlie asked impatiently. "We just send Hermione and Remus after Voldemort and we're rid of him? That easy?"
Severus snorted.
"Hardly, Mr Weasley. He still has Horcruxes hidden out there. Even if we get rid of his current body, he'll only return later like he did at the Triwizard Tournament."
"And I'm worried that seeing how difficult it is to get rid of one Dark Mark with two of us, I don't know how well we'd fare against Voldemort himself." Remus confided, sending a worried glance at Hermione. He would go mad if anything happened to her.
"Should we call for Neville and Luna then?" Hermione asked.
"I hate to ask it of them, but we don't have much choice. And they did really well at St Mungos: they fought intelligently and retreated as soon as they couldn't hold their patronus form any longer."
"But more importantly Potter. Do you know where the Dark Lord is?" Severus detached every syllable like he did when he was intent on terrifying the First years on their first Potion class.
"No...no. Just a dark, low-ceilinged place. Nowhere I recognized."
"May I?" The ex-spy asked, indicating Harry's forehead. The Boy-Who-Lived stiffened in apprehension when he understood Snape wanted to use legilimency on him to see his memory, but he nodded bravely nonetheless.
"Be nice." Hermione muttered to the Slytherin. "He's one of us now."
Severus grimaced.
"I'm not holding hands with him." He scorned playfully. However he did apply a light pressure to the Potter spawn's temples and plunged into the brilliant emerald eyes that reminded him so much of Lily, and in an instant he was in the memory he wanted, watching the Dark Lord sputter and curse in rage. He recognized the victim as being Dolohov, and shrugged: he had always been a vicious Death-Eater and more than earned the pain. Turning his attention to the surroundings, he paid particular attention to the room's layout. The place had several doors, which indicated quite a large house, more likely than not an old manor that belonged to a wizarding family, judging by the lack of any muggle conveniences such as electricity, while the low-ceilings indicated a pre-victorian era architecture. He glimpsed a small round window on the far end that was almost entirely occluded by a thick velvet drape, but luck had it that it had been hastily pulled and gave him the opportunity to peer out at the landscape rich with topiary bushes.
"Gotcha." He smirked as he delved out of Potter's mind, while the boy slumped back in the sofa with a relieved smile on his face. He gathered everyone around, all the while trying to persuade himself he was not leading a pack of Gryffindors and he laid out a plan to free the hostages.
A couple of hours later, several pops of apparition disturbed a few owls that had started to slumber off with the rising sun turning the dawn sky a fiery pink and orange. Severus knew by experience this was the best time of the day for a surprise attack or infiltration: the night shifts were too knackered and had their mind set on a cosy bed and nothing else, while the morning shift were not yet fully alert, their coffee having yet to uncloud their sleepy minds. The Warts team on the other hand was all high on pepper-up potions, not something Severus usually condoned but they had been a sorry bunch of haggard fighters after their unusually busy night.
Everybody knew their part, and Severus couldn't believe that, as the strategist, he had teamed himself up with Potter. It was like biting his own hand and he had no one to complain to. Potter, on the other hand, was his usual cheerful self, even more so on pepper-up, the annoying brat.
Severus heard the preset signal, a three owl hoot from the right which meant the team next to them had set the crystal to interrupt the wards. He gently pushed the crystal towards the ward's edge too.
"Pass on the signal, Potter." He muttered. He'd be damned if he hooted himself, Potter could embarrass himself if he wished.
After a few minutes they heard a soft triple hoot from Hermione. The circle was now complete, and hypothetically they should be able to cross the wards without setting them off. Severus raised a hand before him and pushed it through the invisible barrier without any harm befalling him or alarms going off. He sighed, and Potter let out a loud gasp as if he had been holding in his breath. Then, if anyone had been paying very close attention to the garden, they would have seen ten human shapes hurrying towards the manor, bent double and lurking in the shadows, before disappearing through various traps, doors and windows as rapidly as they had appeared.
Severus only teamed himself up with Potter so he could keep an eye out on Hermione. That girl could get into more trouble than a whole first year of Gryffindors, and as they met up again in the manor, his fears were confirmed when he noticed her scraped knee and disheveled hair. He raised an inquiring eyebrow and she scowled.
"You didn't say they had watchdogs."
He shrugged mockingly.
"Shh." Remus said, pointing towards where Neville and Luna were waving at them to follow.
Soon, the six of them were hiding before the entrance to the room Potter had seen earlier, with the Dark Lord and more than a few of his inner-circle Death-Eaters lounging about. Severus hoped the Weasleys and Reg would quickly get the hostages out, before this lot started stirring. It would be best if they could avoid any kind of confrontation at this point.
Potter was holding his wand in a white-knuckled grip, with a mask of grim determination on his face as he stared unblinkingly at the doorway where his mortal enemy lay. It seemed the Boy-Who-Lived-Again-And-Again wasn't so reluctant to get it over with and Severus could only hope the young man wouldn't go all Gryffindor on him. The Longbottom boy had an almost similar expression and it only softened when he looked lovingly at the Ravenclaw girl holding his hand. He could almost gag at the lovey-dovey couple, if he wasn't so angered at the sight of Hermione and Lupin cuddling nearby and no amount of full-force glaring was making any of them uncomfortable.
I mean... Lupin! Why the bloody hell was she with Lupin? She could have anyone! It was just like Lily settling with James Potter when she deserved someone so much better. And this was even worse: he was twice her age, poor and he didn't even have an old family name, or-
Hermione gasped, holding out her DA galleon. At least they had gotten the prisoners away, and about time, too. Malfoy and Rosier's voices were becoming louder, or, more likely, they were approaching the exit. Severus gestured for them all to retreat, but he had to backtrack and pull Potter back. Still as stubborn and arrogant as his father. They were about halfway out of the labyrinthic manor when, rounding a corner, they stumbled across a patrol. Potter who had the quickest reflexes stupefied one of them, but the second had just enough time to dodge Severus' own spell and grab the blond Ravenclaw who was closest to him, ducking behind her.
"It's you! The traitor! And Potter!" The man snarled pointing his wand at the Warts group while he almost crushed Lovegood's neck with his other arm, holding her flush against him as a shield. At which point the Death-Eater started calling for his comrades and all hell broke loose.