Prisoner of Azkaban
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Aftermath
Fuhrer's Mansion
Safe Room
Yuery paced the room, worried as the wait stretched. In the distance he could hear sounds of fighting outside, then above them. Armstrong and Breda remained calm the entire time and he wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse. He was worried about his Dad and Yeye. He was worried about the soldiers outside. If he was honest with himself, he was worried this Black would get passed them all and then what would Yuery do?
He, of course, would fight this man if he had to but what if the man threatened those around him? Would he just give him what he wanted to keep others safe, or would he be brave enough to keep fighting? What would his Dad and Yeye have done? They both fought wars when they were young, and here he was hiding in a bunker.
"I know what you are thinking young Elric. Stop now, while you are ahead." Armstrong said calmly.
"How could you know what I am thinking?" Yuery frowned, trying to distract the older man from the lecture he knew was coming. Again. "You cannot read minds, so you can only guess my thoughts not know them. If you CAN read minds, well then you have been keeping important information from the Fuhrer, haven't you?"
"Your father and your grandfather are both soldiers, alchemists were never meant to be soldiers though Yuery. We are to powerful, to destructive. Your father and grandfather agree, why do you think we alchemists are only sent in as a last resort?" Armstrong sighed heavily. "Under Bradley, things were different, worse, because he wanted destruction. He wanted to cause pain, and he used children to do it. He broke many, many teenagers and young adults on his way to breaking everything else and that is what we are all striving to avoid for you and your friends."
"Alex is correct Yu. Dad and Brother want things to be different from when we were young. We all want you and the other children to know more to life than war. That is why you will stay here, and why you will not argue further. Today has been stressful enough without adding arguments among us." Alphonse said as he locked the door behind him, before hugging his nephew. "Your father is fine; he's upstairs now ending this fight along with your grandfather and Severus is with them."
"What of Remus then?" Breda asked in concern. He knew the other man had gone but had been conflicted with the whole ordeal. Apparently, he was once good friends with this Black.
"We left him in Reseembool. He did not wish to see reason on the matter of force. The orders are clear on the matter. Threat level elevated, no chance of capture unless the Fuhrer or Lt. Fuhrer catch him themselves and show mercy." Alphonse said coldly. He was not impressed with the men's behavior, either Black or Lupin. He would be taking a very close look at Lupin's records upon his return to Xerxes. Should the man be an ongoing issue, Alphonse would not hesitate to cut him loose rather than risk student safety.
"Who died?" Yuery demanded. The only reason his father would raise the threat level that high was if the man proved himself a murderer.
"Rebecca Havoc." Alphonse sighed sadly. "At least five were injured with a dangerous pain spell."
Above them the sounds of the battle had ended. Either Black had been captured or killed. There was no other explanation for the complete silence. Had he managed to get passed all the guards, and the family, there were more guards stationed between the main floor and here that would still be fighting.
A few moments later Severus Snape arrived at the door, knocking softly and calling out the coded phrase given to him by Edward before coming down. Breda opened the door while Alphonse stood between Yuery, and the door and Armstrong stood ready to fight. When no one was with Severus, they all relaxed.
"It is over, he has been captured, which I'm sure will please Remus. Personally, I would have carried out the orders, but then I do not believe him to be sound of mind." Severus said, before anyone could ask any questions. "It will be a few more minutes down here as they organize clean up and removal of Black."
"Are they going to turn him back over to England?" Yuery asked curiously.
"No, they already lost him once far too easily. No after all he has done he will be imprisoned here to await trial for his crimes. Do not worry though Yuery, we will ensure he does not escape a second time." Severus assured.
"I do not think he wishes to harm me anyway, from what I have heard, his intent is to take me because once again the English wizards refuse to understand that I am NOT Harry Potter. Not anymore." Yuery frowned as a thought occurred to him. "Are we going ahead with the border seal? How will my friends visit then? How will anyone currently out there return home then?"
"We are going through with the seal yes. Those who are weaving the spell will be able to alter it long enough to let someone in if necessary, however from this point on no one can enter without the help of a spellcaster. Clearly the original spell was flawed, though the mistake was minor as far as calculations were concerned the effect was devastating. Which is precisely why I am so insistent in class you pay attention."
"I want to see him." Yuery said as he nodded in acknowledgment of what was said. "I want to tell him myself that I do not want him or belong to him in anyway as I did with Dumbledore. These people need to understand I am NOT who they want me to be."
"Your father is not going to agree with that." Breda said with a frown.
"Perhaps he should consider it though." Alphonse added.
"Why?" Severus demanded, in agreement that Ed should keep Yuery far away from this man. "He just killed several of your people, maimed even more. Why give him a chance to speak to the child?"
"Shou Tucker." Alphonse responded. "Edward reacted badly at the time, but I believe had he not, he never would have found closure."
"The situations are not the same." Edward said from behind as a way of announcing his arrival. "It also never gave me closure Brother, only more guilt. You only have your diaries to go on and I have always been good at hiding the worst of my trauma from you. Ask Dad if you honestly believe that demon was put to rest. Yuery, I do not want you anywhere near this madman."
"Dad, I feel like I may possibly be the only one he will listen to on this, and I want him to NOT break back out and tear through more of our people to get to me. I will simply tell him how I feel about what he has done and walk away."
"I will consider it, after he has been secured." Ed sighed. "Not before Ling's man arrives though. Ling is sending someone who can temporarily bind his magic."
"They can do that?!" Severus asked with a frown. He had never heard of such a thing.
"Of course, they did so with any remaining members of the Zhao Clan until they proved loyal to their current clan instead of their birth clan. Most came forward voluntarily for the process." Alphonse nodded. "Mei was talking about it not long ago, as the last of them came in to be unbound."
"How is it done? That could be very useful both to hold prisoners and in battle." Severus asked.
"You will have to ask their wizard, I'm afraid I do not have the details, nor does my wife. The information I believe is limited to the court wizards but an oathbound ally may be allowed." Alphonse said.
"I was under the impression that none of the Zhao clan remained." Armstrong asked.
"There were those who refused to join the fight and fled their prince, those that had already married into other clans." Edward nodded. "Ling was not going to punish them for being born under Takashi's rule."
"So, then after he is bound, I may speak to him?" Yuery asked, he was annoyed the adults seemed to have changed subjects altogether without a clear answer.
"Perhaps. Don't try to push for an answer Yuery. We still have a lot to discuss too, I didn't forget our conversation from this morning." Ed frowned at his son who pouted in return.
"I will escort Yuery up to his room sir." Breda offered and Ed nodded. He still needed to go down to the prison and talk to Ling's wizard as well as checking on the injured both here and Reseembool.
Barrier outside Xing
Dumbledore had elected to try to enter through Xing, always the weakest point in the previous barrier according to Nick, even if it would take longer to get there. He had been working on his vow and thought he might have found a way around it. He would simply wait to talk to the boy when he arrived in Xerxes. According to what he had gathered from the children, Harry attended as a day student so it should not be a long wait.
The problem he discovered quickly was the new barrier. It was stronger than before and growing stronger still as he stood there. Someone was altering it as he watched. He was running out of time should he wish to gain entry. Along the path, not far from where he stood, he could see a cue of magic users entering the barrier. He could possibly sneak in with them if he was careful and clever.
Inside one of his pockets he carried various potions, among them Polyjuice. He just needed to catch a wizard out, take a bit of their hair and tie hem up so he could get through. It should be easy enough; the cue was steadily gaining new people as quickly as they were being waved through. First, he watched for a while, using a magic pair of glasses that allowed him to see as if he was standing next to them, so he would know what to take from the person he chose.
After several minutes he walked down to a bend in the path and waited in the trees for someone traveling alone. Annoyingly everyone seemed to be arriving in groups. Finally, after waiting the better part of an hour a single woman, younger with light brown hair and thin build, walked around the bend. He quickly stunned her and drug her off the path.
Riffling through her pockets, he removed her identification papers and the letter urging her to return to Drachma. "Calissa where are you?" a second woman called out as she too came around the bend as he added the hair to his potion. "This isn't funny, we must hurry."
He cursed quietly, even as he stole the girl's robes, switching them for his own after emptying his pockets with a swish of his wand. Luckily her pockets were charmed as well. He then stood and quickly rushed out to the path after ensuring the girl would not wake for a couple of hours. "I'm here. I had to look at something." He answered.
"More like you couldn't hold your bladder." The other girl snorted. "Come we must get in line before it troubles you again."
They walked down to the rest of the line, where several people waved at them before joining the cue. It was moving quickly still, though he hoped to be passed it before the potion wore off and away from this girl who would surely sound the alarm.
Twenty minutes later they had finally reached the front. He had noticed while waiting a few people had more difficulty entering than others as if the barrier itself did not want to let them in. One man had been pulled aside altogether and taken away for questioning. This made him a bit concerned but he had always been good at hiding his true thoughts and intent so he should be able to convince both the guards and the barrier he actually was Carissa Whatever-her-name-was.
He handed over her paperwork as the other girl, who had spent this entire time chatting at everyone around them, announced. "Calissa and Valina Straughn to return home following our school term."
"Very well, all seems in order." The guard replied and waved them passed after returning their papers. Dumbledore filled his thoughts with 'returning home after the school term, excited to see our parents and siblings' quickly envisioning a whole scenario to feel as he tried to walk through the barrier. It mostly worked as he had felt some resistance but had walked hand in hand with Valina only stumbling as the barrier pushed.
"WAIT!" a strange man yelled just as they got inside, carrying a still sleeping Calissa in his arms. "That's not really her!" Dumbledore pulled his wand, stunning Valina and a guard that turned to him before apparating away to the closest point he knew in Xing. He hoped he hadn't forgotten anything in his pockets.
Central
High Security Prison
Alchemist Cellblock
Sirius had been knocked out somehow, coming around to the inside of a cell. A sight he had hoped to avoid for the remainder of his life. His arms were bound, wrapped inside a straitjacket and his hands felt as though they had been wrapped up separately. A long chain, he discovered, connected the jacket to the wall of the cell which was small with only a door to see out of. He could not make it all the way to the door, to his frustration as he screamed for somebody to let him out.
After a few minutes, the door opened revealing the Elder Elric and an unknown wizard. Sirius growled at the sight of the man who apparently had stolen his godson. "Enough of that now, or we'll have to dart you again." Elric said calmly, before waving the other man closer. "Now, we decided it would be inhumane to keep you bound up like that for your entire stay at our prison, which I assure you will be a very long time, so Emperor Ling had a suggestion. Go ahead, you do not need his permission."
The other man began instantly casting a spell that Sirius didn't recognize, though he felt his magic drain out of him even as he tried to gather it to transform. This scared him, more than anything else had in recent memory even more than the barrier he had forced his way through a few days ago. They were somehow stealing his powers! "Stop that!" he demanded, sounding every bit as frightened as he felt. "You can't do this."
"We can and will. You used a forbidden curse on several of my men, killing five and torturing dozens. You have broken not just our laws but the laws of your own people and no one will protest your magic being bound. "Elric sighed.
"Do not worry, this does not affect your Core, it simply builds a barrier inside so you cannot access it until which time you prove yourself to no longer endanger others." The unknown wizard stated with a small smile. "You can still yet redeem yourself, unless of course you continue on this path."
"I will not allow you to harm Harry! I will find a way out of here with or without my powers." Sirius growled.
Elric frowned and shook his head as he left without a word. A couple of guards came in his place, unhooking Sirius from the wall and leading him out of the cell. "I just want my child back." Sirius argued, hoping to appeal to the guards or the wizard.
"You killed several innocent people, and caused so many others pain in pursuit of a child that is not yours to claim. What would you do to him if he refused to come with you?" the wizard asked calmly.
"I would make him see reason, clearly, he would be confused at first. After all he has been lied to for his whole like, but I am his godfather, he belongs with me."
"He doesn't. That you speak of him as if he were an object to claim speaks volumes towards your claim. He is his own person, with his own mind. You would do well to remember hat should you ever be gifted the opportunity to speak to him directly."
"Like they will let him talk to me, they probably never told him why I was here, if they told him anything at all." Sirius snorted.
"Given the Fuhrer and Lt Fuhrer's stance on honesty, he knows. I've worked with Mustang and Elric for years and hey don't keep secrets from their kids." One of the guards said as he comes to a stop in front of a bigger cell. This one had a small window and more light as well as a built-in table and stool in addition to the narrow bed and small bathroom area. "This will be your room until the trail, do avoid making a mess of it. We will not relocate you to accommodate tantrums."