A/N) Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I am currently working on writing chapter 60, I hope to remain at this pace of writing and if all goes to plan, I should have this story finished by the end of November. At the moment I am managing to write 4-5 chapters per week all over 3000 words each, I could increase updates to three times a week, but I'm not going to do that until I completely finishing writing this fic, which considering the pace I am going, shouldn't be too long.
Without further ado, I present chapter 53: Rescue?
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the spells used in this chapter. They either belong to the creative mind of Robin4 or J. herself. I am just using them to play with.
Chapter Fifty-Three: Rescue?
"What are we going to do?" hissed Remus, as he read the note once more, taking in the delicate handwriting and parchment. Fawkes had bought the message that much was clear. It was the quickest and easiest way to send messages, especially if something came up. This was one of those times.
"If we don't go Voldemort will know there is someone of his followers is betraying him," said Kingsley, frowning in indecision. "We could lose whoever that is if they are discovered."
"Maybe we split?" suggested Remus. "We still go, but not all to Malfoy Manor. Undoubtedly, Sirius and Hermione will have guards at the Riddle House... I don't think we can leave them in Voldemort's hands any longer then they have been." He ran a hand through his brown hair, flicking it out of his eyes. "The first two groups Apparate as planned to Malfoy Manor, but the third group goes to the Riddle House. Group three is meant to wait for the signal; there is no rough time for us to arrive. We could get to the Riddle House, rescue Hermione and Sirius and then a few members of group three Apparate to Malfoy Manor and send off a signal to let you know that we've succeeded and you can withdraw. If you don't get that signal within thirty minutes, you leave on your own accord."
Kingsley studied Remus' face expectantly. "You've thought about that plan, Lupin. Ever thought of becoming an Auror?"
Remus looked taken back, and raised his hands in defence, slightly shocked by the question. "No, never," he said, quite hastily.
"Quick reaction time to think of an alternative plan, that is a good quality to have for an Auror," continued Kingsley. "With the amount of Aurors we are losing to guard Azkaban ever since the Dementors deserted us, we could use someone like you."
Remus' face hardened. "I fight for the Order. And the Ministry wouldn't employ me anyway."
"I'd fight for you."
"No, and that is my final answer," replied Remus. He looked at his watch. "We haven't got long to change the plan. Groups one and two will need to leave soon. If we don't show on time..."
"...he'll suspect something is wrong," finished Kingsley, grimly. Grasping his wand, Kingsley pointed it at his throat, muttering "Sonorus", before speaking aloud. "If everyone could please quieten down, we need to go over the mission details one last time..."
Everyone's attention turned towards Kingsley; silence fell, save for the sounds of feet rustling in nervousness or eagerness to get on with it. His dark eyes met everyone's gazes. A slight smile pulled at his lips. If the traitor is in this room they'll get a surprise now. They won't have time to warn Voldemort about our change in plans. Thank god time is on our side. A niggling thought at the back of his head. For now.
"Sirius, are you there?" Hermione's voice shook in the cold, damp cell they had been moved to. It was gloomier and dirtier than the one they had been in.
"I'm here," he replied. "We're not at Malfoy Manor anymore."
If he could see Hermione's face in the brief light they had, he would have been sure that it would have gone a shade whiter than it already was. "Where are we then?" she whispered, her voice almost broken with fear.
"I don't know. I know all of Malfoy Manor... unless of course he has added to it since I was last there but the decor does not strike me as something Malfoy would do. I've been wrong before, misjudged people..." he frowned. "Something's going on or something will be happening that has made them move us to a different location."
"A rescue attempt?" asked Hermione, tentatively. She didn't want to hope, but it was the only thing she could cling onto in this dark world she was currently in. "But... but... if that's the case, how do they know?"
Sirius sighed. "We've known for a while there is a traitor among the Order but we don't know who. If there is a rescue afoot, they're walking into a trap at the Manor."
Hermione hugged her knees, a small sob erupting from her chest. "Do you think...?"
"That we could still be rescued?" he asked, surprise written across his features. "Yes, I do." He moved towards Hermione, sitting beside her. He knew she needed someone to comfort her; understood that what she had suffered would haunt her. One could not easily recover mentally from what she had gone through, but she was holding up well, but the scars would not show themselves until they got out of there. He was under no delusions that there was a possibility that they could die in Voldemort's hands, however he also believed in his friends and the Order. "Just believe in friendship, in an unbroken one," he advised. "It helped me in Azkaban. I remembered James and everything he had done for me... his memory kept me alive... as well as knowing I was innocent."
"You shouldn't place your hope in friends, cousin; it will do you no good."
That was Bellatrix standing in the now-open doorway. Neither of them had noticed it opening. Her wand was out and pointing directly at Sirius. There seemed to be a manic glint in her eyes as she stepped into the cell, as if she had been given permission to do whatever she was about to do. Her eyes were only for Sirius; he could not suppress the shudder that ran up his spine.
"You should be very afraid, cousin," she purred sweetly.
This is bad... he thought.
"On three we will Apparate to our destinations," said Kingsley, his eyes sweeping around the dark room. "This is it, people. Be prepared for the unexpected." He clutched his wand in one hand. "One... two... three!" With a POP, groups one and two vanished, leaving Remus Lupin in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, amongst group three which was led by Alastor Moody and Hestia Jones. Group three consisted more of Order members rather than Aurors, however both Alastor and Hestia had been reassigned to group three in light of the new information. It was certain that there would be Death Eaters on guard so they needed experienced Aurors to help them in case the situation got too sticky for them to handle.
Remus glanced at his watch. One minute to go. In total there were twelve witches and wizards in the third group with fifteen in each of the other groups. Beside him stood Dedalus Diggle, Mundungus Fletcher (he had been roped into the mission on Dumbledore's orders), Sturgis Podmore, Emmeline Vance, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Charadoc Doarbeor, Leanne Tomkinson, and finally Minerva McGonagall who was serving as the conduct that would get Hermione back to headquarters or Hogwarts, depending on her condition. The Headmaster had – unknowingly to most of the participants of the mission – lifted the Apparition wards from the Hospital Wing. Minerva and Remus were responsible for getting Sirius and Hermione to safety; they would not fight if a battle broke out, but if they had to, they would, but their individual tasks were to retrieve the captives.
"One." Alastor began the countdown.
Remus steeled himself for what was to come.
"Two." Focusing on the destination... "Three."
Group three Disapparated.
Sirius was screaming; Hermione pressed up against the wall, her eyes wide at the sight of him writhing on the ground. Bellatrix was the only one in the cell, and she was laughing. The wand moved away and Sirius stopped shaking, struggling to breathe through the pain his body was in.
"I'd be doing this to her," snarled Bellatrix, her eyes flashing over at Hermione's trembling form, "but my Lord ordered me not to. He will know if I disobey him..." Her eyes were alight with hunger. "But you, blood-traitor, I can have. WHAT DID YOU DO?"
He flinched as her voice rose suddenly. "I...did...nothing!" he choked out.
"Then explain how your precious Order knew where to find you!" She kicked out at him, her booted foot connecting with his rib cage.
He gritted his teeth, biting down on the scream that rose in his throat. So there was a rescue mission afoot and they had been tipped off... hence the reason why they had been moved.
"No one was trusted with your location save for those most loyal to the Dark Lord!" she screeched. "Crucio!"
He writhed once more, this time unable to hold back the scream that was torn from him. At least it's not Hermione...
"STOP IT!" That was Hermione, her eyes alight with tears.
"Do not speak to me, you disgusting Mudblood!" Just because she could – and probably incensed at Hermione for yelling at her – Bellatrix withdraw the Cruciatus curse and then cast a far older torture curse that had once been used widely within the Wizarding Community before the Cruciatus Curse had been discovered. The word was pronounced softly – so unlike Bellatrix, who liked to emphasise what she did, rather loudly too. "Carnificius!"
Sirius felt his bones grind together painfully: this curse hurt a lot more then the Cruciatus. Unlike the Cruciatus, the victim of the curse would not suffer insanity if continually subjected to it. Still writhing on the ground, trying his best to throw it off, he found he could not summon the inner strength to do so.
And still Bellatrix laughed.
They appeared on the outskirts of the Riddle House estate to complete and utter silence. Remus tentatively looked around, his sharp eyes taking in his surroundings. Mad-Eye Moody and Hestia Jones were already moving forward towards the front door, their wands out and muttering spells under their breath, making sure that this wasn't a trap as well.
Please, please let them be here... thought Remus as he ran beside his former Transfiguration Professor towards the Riddle House. He had never seen McGonagall involved directly in any Order missions before, but the circumstances surrounding this one meant that she had to come along.
Quickly and quietly they made it through the entrance to the Riddle House; now standing on the dust covered wooden floor of the Manor, they could discern screams coming from below.
Remus' face paled as he realised that it was Sirius. He risked a glance at his companions and saw that he was not the only one looking white, and maybe a little bit ill. If Hermione is down there too... He didn't even want to contemplate what they could be doing to her as well...
"Alright, move quietly towards the kitchen," hissed Moody, lighting his wand. "Be on the lookout for any movement."
They moved silently through the hallway, the sounds of Sirius' screams getting louder by the second. Remus and McGonagall brought up the rear as they stepped into the kitchen; a door leading to the basement stood slightly ajar. Moody distinguished the light from the end of his wand, motioning for Remus and McGonagall to stay back. They didn't know how many Death Eaters were below in the basement; better for the two Aurors to go first.
Moody and Hestia Jones edged forward, quietly pulling the door open as slowly as possible but –
"What was that?" A harsh male voice said from below.
Everyone froze. The screams had stopped; they could hear hushed voices below them but could not hear the words, even with Remus' excellent hearing. Moody waved them back, holding his wand high, and then he lunged through the door, running down the stairs; Hestia Jones right behind him, curses flying from their lips as they attacked the group below. The other Order members descended and Remus and McGonagall followed.
Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband Rodolphus Lestrange, Narcissa Malfoy and Barty Crouch Junior were all engaged in a fight with the two Aurors and Order members. The Death Eaters were severely outnumbered, but that didn't stop Narcissa from taking down two Order members with a well placed stunning spell for one and a bone breaker curse on another member. Remus didn't even need to look at the body to know that Charadoc Doarbeor would not be getting up again.
It was too chaotic for either Remus or McGonagall to slip by and anyway, the cell that Sirius and Hermione inevitably were in had been closed. The basement had once been a traditional one, a storage area for the Riddle family, but Voldemort, upon 'acquiring' the house had converted the basement into a dungeon. Small cells lined the walls, heavy padlocked doors preventing anyone inside them from getting out.
The Death Eaters were putting up a hard fight, ducking back into one of the free cells for cover, preventing the Order members from taking any of them down.
"We have to get past them... Trust Voldemort to send his most psychotic followers to stand guard," growled Remus, his fingers tightening on his wand as he prepared to do battle. They had no option: they couldn't stay hidden waiting for a breakthrough. If they wanted it, they'd have to make it for themselves. He met his old Transfiguration teachers gaze. "Are you ready?"
A brief nod; they sprung out, joining the fight.
Hermione inched forward in the darkness towards Sirius' prone body. She could hear the sounds of battle beyond the closed cell door, but she didn't care about that now; her brown eyes were focused entirely upon the still form of her companion. There was a pool of blood collecting on the floor beside her, and she shifted around it to avoid getting her clothing dirty.
"Sirius?"
There was no answer.
She swallowed. She had seen first-hand what Bellatrix had done to him to get him to talk. Many of them had been spells she had not even heard of. Those are the type of spells you won't even learn at school...
Carefully, she placed a hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him, but he did not stir. Bellatrix had been attempting to revive him before the battle had broken out. Not content with not getting any answers from him, she had vowed to carry on until he told her how the Order knew that they had been at Malfoy Manor. Hermione had no idea herself; she was just grateful that Sirius 'giving' into Voldemort's demands had spared her this pain, but she was willing to bet, that if the Order failed outside, the Dark Lord would reverse that command: she knew Sirius wouldn't be willing to let her suffer anymore then she had already done so.
A high screech from Bellatrix echoed from outside the door, and a look of fear crossed Hermione's face; the unfamiliar spell made her wonder what exactly it had done to her opponents.
"Iugulra!"
Moody's gruff voice came next, casting another two unfamiliar spells. "Extundo!" A loud thump against their cell door, a Death Eater had fallen. "Venderum!"
Please, please, don't let them lose, begged Hermione. She could only sit in the darkness beside Sirius' unconscious form and wait for the battle outside to end.
Narcissa Malfoy was down. And Barty Crouch Junior had suffered a potentially life threatening wound to the stomach; blood was pouring from it, but despite that he was still fighting back against the two Aurors and remaining Order members.
"Stupefy!" shouted Remus, pointing his wand at Barty. The stunning spell hit him full on and the curse that was about to fly from his lips never came. Two Death Eaters left and three Order members were down, but they were still winning.
"To the left!" yelled Moody, and everyone moved as a killing curse whooshed overhead. If Remus had stayed where he had been, he could have been killed.
He tracked Bellatrix with his wand as he watched her dart back and forth from the cover the Death Eaters had made for themselves. She was the most dangerous one of all; her husband was being a lot more careful. Her actions, however, were stopping Remus and McGonagall from completing their part of the mission. Bellatrix may be insane, but she was still smart. Every time she leapt out a shield charm protected her. They had to work together to get it down.
"Hestia! Together!"
Hestia nodded, crouching behind a barrel.
Bellatrix sprung out once more, laughing madly, curses flying in all directions from her lips, and then a well timed Everbero curse from both Remus and Hestia broke through, shattering the shield she had conjured to protect herself. A follow up attack from Moody brought her down.
Only one enemy left. And Rodulphus was hiding in the confines of the other cell. Eight against one were good odds in their favour, unless Rodulphus did something stupid. And he did. He leapt out, for just a second, a killing curse on his lips and Charlie Weasley's curse caught him in the chest before he could finish it. He slumped to the floor, his wand falling from his fingers as he did so.
"Well, there you go," said Moody. "Job done."
"Not yet, Alastor," said McGonnagall sternly, her sharp eyes meeting his. She moved forward towards one of the other cells, Remus walking behind her. She waved her wand once and the door opened.
Bright light fell onto her face and Hermione blinked in the harsh light, shielding her face with her arm.
"Hermione?"
"Professor Lupin?"
Suddenly someone was kneeling down next to her, gripping her by the shoulders. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, all the tension she had been keeping inside of her, suddenly releasing in one great big sob. She let the tears fall; strong arms wrapping tight around her.
"You're okay now, you're safe," soothed Lupin.
"I'll take her from here," said Professor McGonagall, kneeling down beside her, gently pulling Hermione to her feet. "You need to tend to your friend. I'll alert Madam Pomfrey that he's coming."
Hermione was shaking and someone wrapped a cloak around her. It seemed so unbelievable that they were here...
"Miss Granger, I'm going to buddy-Apparate you to Hogwarts. Hold tight."
Hermione nodded, her legs shaking. "I can't leave him," she sobbed, pointing towards Sirius' form.
"He'll be fine," was the reply, and the grasp on her arms tightened. Sudden darkness and she felt her chest constricting and her feet landed on the floor of the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts.
Hermione felt a wave of dizziness engulf her and then her knees buckled and she crashed to the floor; the shock of being rescued sending her into darkness.
Remus remained behind while Bill and Charlie Weasley Apparated Sirius' unconscious form back to Hogwarts. He had told them in an undertone where to take him; he would join them later, once other things were sorted out. He walked out of the gloomy cell to find Alastor and Hestia binding the Lestrange's together, leaving both Narcissa Malfoy and Barty Crouch Junior unattended since they were both unconscious and from the looks of things seriously injured.
"Are we taking them in?" asked Remus, eyeing the bound forms of the Lestranges.
Moody nodded. "Of course; it means two more Death Eaters out of the way. Those two," he indicated Narcissa and Barty Crouch Junior, "we'll leave behind. They'll be out of action for a while, if they both survive. Now, Lupin, I'm sure Potter would like to know his godfather and friend is safe; I suggest you get going."
"Someone needs to alert groups one and two that they can pull-out," said Remus.
"Already sent Vance and Podmore. By the time we get back to Headquarters, they will be back," said Moody, his magical eye swirling in its eye socket. "Off you get, Remus. Jones and I can handle the Lestranges from here."
Remus rolled his eyes but didn't argue. He Disapparated.
Thursday 8th October 1995
It was just after two in the morning when Remus Lupin and Professor McGonagall entered Gryffindor Tower. Remus waited in the Common Room while Professor McGonagall ascended the stairs. Within minutes the groggy forms of Harry and Ron appeared, still clad in their pyjamas; Harry's hair sticking up on end.
So like James... mused Remus, grinning broadly. He leaned back on one of the puffer chairs, a wide smile on his face as he contemplated the two.
"What's goin' on?" asked Ron. He looked very tired; it was known that Ron hadn't been coping well with Hermione's disappearance, especially since he had been dozing off in classes. Harry had fared much better, but he still looked exhausted from a lack of sleep.
"We raided the Riddle House a few hours ago," began Remus. He could see a grin beginning to broaden on Harry's face. "I am pleased to tell you that both Sirius and Hermione are in the Hospital Wing, recovering."
Ron's tiredness seemed to vanish with one blink. "Can we go and see and see her?"
Remus exchanged a glance with Professor McGonagall. "I believe they are both resting at the moment however I don't think there will be a problem if you go and see them."
Professor McGonagall walked in front of them. "Come along, Potter, Weasley, I'll take you to them, but you can't stay the night, however you'll be welcome to return at first light."
Remus followed the boys out of the Common Room. He couldn't suppress his happiness at seeing Harry's face when he had learned that both Sirius and Hermione had safely been rescued. Let's just hope Hermione isn't too damaged from what was done to her...
To be continued...
Please let me know what you think!
Next chapter: Plans Afoot - a not very thrilling chapter title, I must say, but below are some dialogue teasers from the chapter...
"She probably couldn't resist the temptation and it worked to their advantage."
"So instead of Snape teaching me, you could have?"
"You had to trust him, didn't you?"
"Weren't you on the news a few years ago?"
"We love you and we don't want to lose you."
Again, probably not very exciting... but its something. As always, the next chapter will be posted on Thursday.
Until then,
the-writer1988