Chapter Forty One
Harry was very grateful that he'd landed on a bed. He wasn't sure how he'd landed so neatly on the bed when the canopy above him was still fully intact but here he was.
There was no one else in the room, at least no one had screamed that he'd just dropped in on them. It was another stroke of luck that he'd been sorely missing lately and was really very grateful.
Harry pushed himself to his feet and looked around the room. It was straight out of an old castle picture and covered in a thick layer of dust. Someone had been in the room recently; the books had been removed from the shelves and the bedding was cleaner than any of the chairs but it was not a well loved room, that much was obvious.
From the look of the out of date furniture and slightly shabbiness of it all, Harry was pretty sure where ever he'd landed was still in Lestrange Manor at least. There was the odd room still decorated this way at Malfoy Manor but they were well kept and always spotlessly clean. This wasn't either.
There wasn't much to say who's room it was. A few general books that every old fashioned pure-blood had on their bookshelves, even if they never actually read them.
Harry walked over and snooped in the wardrobe. The robes weren't tall enough for an adult really, maybe a very short adult but it was unlikely.
"Corvus…" Harry muttered to himself, spotting a row of little origami animals made from old parchment.
Harry suddenly felt very strange being in Corvus's room. It was one thing to go snooping when you didn't know who's room it was but he did know Corvus and for some reason it felt like a betrayal.
He'd never have guessed this was Corvus's room without the origami; it was nothing like the one he'd loved at Malfoy Manor. That one was light and airy, full of books and art with two corners filled with piled up cushions for reading in.
The closest thing to art in this room was the very ornate writing desk that had a broken leg and wouldn't open without a smack.
Harry had no idea where Corvus's room was in the house, and therefore no way of forming a half decent plan to get out of it. One side of the house had the leftovers of an orchard that reached up the old brick walls. Unfortunately Corvus's room wasn't at that side as there was nothing under the window but a three story drop.
Harry considered just jumping, and casting a cushioning charm to stop himself from going splat but he'd never been very good at cushioning charms and it would need perfect timing. It wasn't worth the risk, not unless he couldn't get out any other way. It seemed far more likely he'd end up broken and unable to move on the ground than he'd land safely.
He had some polyjuice potion in his bag, but no hairs from anyone to use it. Corvus would surely have a few hairs around here somewhere, but Corvus would be at school. Someone would think it was awfully strange that he'd just appeared home all of a sudden.
The third floor was only just below the attic though, far closer than it was from the front door. They'd aimed for the attic, maybe at least Kreacher had gotten there. Harry wondered if the best thing he could do was to try and get to the attic and hope someone else was up there.
Harry wasn't sure, up or down?
The longer he waited, the more chance there was that someone was going to find him and he knew he really didn't want that to happen. He had no doubts he could fight against one, maybe two opponents but there would be dozens of Death Eaters in this house. From the way his scar was prickling he was sure that Voldemort himself was under the same roof he was.
Harry couldn't go down. His throat felt blocked with fear at the thought of running into Voldemort; it was something he just couldn't take the risk with.
A wave of calm washed over him once he'd decided he was going to try going up to the attic, he liked having a plan in place.
The door creaked as he pulled it open, checking the hall was clear before heading out. He could feel his heart pounding in his neck as he held his wand up, flinching at every movement and nearly cursing a mouse that scuttled into the skirting board at the sight of him.
Harry breathed a deep sigh of relief as he found a very old, dark set of stairs with no lights at all. He was sure this must lead to the attic. He could feel some wards holding him back and started muttering under his breath to try and bring them down.
Kreacher landed near enough on his head and flipped down onto an old chest of draws. The feeling of the children's fingers slipping from his own was still painfully clear in his mind.
"I… I…" Kreacher felt a sob build up inside him. He had no idea how he was going to tell Lily or Lucius how he'd managed to lose their children somewhere near or even in Lestrange Manor, and he didn't even know where Hermione's parents were.
Something shuffled nearby, letting out a strangled gasp. Kreacher came to his senses at little and gazed around with his large eyes.
It was very dark and dusty in the attic, Kreacher wished he had a candle or an oil lamp so he could see better. He moved towards the sound, his bare feet catching on splinters from the old flooring.
Pressed against one of the large pillars that held up the roof was the skinniest man Kreacher had ever seen. His skin hung from him like tissue paper, thick blue veins showing through the almost translucent skin.
"Hello?" Kreacher said slowly, the man looked to be little threat but Kreacher wasn't sure how his magic was going to react after the disastrous apparition attempt.
The man moved slightly, letting out another gasp of pain, "I… I've not seen you before. You are new here?"
"Yes." Kreacher said, not elaborating, "You are Mr Ollivander?"
Ollivander turned his silvery eyes, still surprisingly bright, onto the house elf, "Yes… yes I am. You are not here to patch me up so they can start on me once more, are you?"
Kreacher shook his head, Harry had been right; there was something not quite human about the man, "We cames to helps you."
Ollivander tried to sit up slightly more, feeling painful cramps zap through his limbs as the last of his energy soaked into the floor away from him.
"Don't moves sir." Kreacher said quickly, helping the old man to settle again, "When did yous last eats?"
Ollivander gave Kreacher a small smile, "A while ago I think… As you can see there are no windows in my little prison, I have no idea how long I've been here."
Kreacher risked doing some simple magic, waving one hand over the other until a cool, damp face cloth appeared. He used it to wipe the worst of the dirt from Ollivander's face before creating some water in a light, plastic glass.
"Thank you." Ollivander said, coughing slightly as he forced himself not to glug down the clean tasting water.
Kreacher looked around. The attic really was filthy. It had been filled with generations worth of rarely used and unwanted stuff that had been roughly pushed aside to make room for a prisoner.
He turned his attention back to the man, who had fallen asleep in the few seconds since Kreacher had helped him drink.
Kreacher picked up the thick, heavy chain that bound Ollivander to the post he was leaning against. He felt his magic flow like lava through his fingers, melting the chain away into nothing but more dust littering the floor.
Kreacher was feeling stronger now. Harry had wanted Ollivander saved and Kreacher could of done anything to make that end come about.
It was helping, having something fixed to focus on. It also gave him something else to focus on other than the fact Harry could be in danger… or worse.
Ollivander was very weak, he winced slightly in his sleep before jerking himself awake. His wide eyes stared around the room, looking in horror at Kreacher before he remembered what was going on.
"Do you really think you could get me out of here?" Ollivander asked, "It has been so very long since I have seen the sun."
Kreacher wasn't sure how he was going to get Ollivander out, nagging doubts about his apparition failing again flashed through his mind but getting out would almost certainly have far fewer barriers than trying to get in.
"How long has you been here?" Kreacher asked, looking around, fighting the urge to start cleaning.
"That greatly depends on the month it is now." Ollivander said, giving a little chuckle that quickly turned into a painful, hacking cough.
Kreacher jumped to his feet and filled the glass with water with another swirl of his fingers, gingerly lifting the glass to the old man's lips.
"Thank you." Ollivander said weakly.
It looked like Ollivander was going to say something else when they both felt the air crackle with changing magic.
"The wards." Ollivander croaked, "Someone is coming through. Oh Gods, that Lestrange woman is truly insane… I've never seen anyone take such pleasure in hurting others, it seems to be the only moments that she thinks clearly!"
Kreacher stood up slowly and walked towards the attic door.
"Harry!" Kreacher beamed, trying to control the excitement he felt at seeing Harry alive and in one piece.
Harry beamed back at him, "Quick help me up, please."
Kreacher quickly forced a hole in the wards and pulled Harry into the attic.
"Gods it's horrible up here." Harry said, trying not to sneeze at the amount of dirt fighting its way up his nose, "Mr Ollivander… are you all right?"
"I've been better, Mr Potter, but I can also say I have been much worse." Ollivander said slowly.
"You remembered me." Harry exclaimed.
"I remember everyone." Ollivander said, his eyes glinting.
"Have you seen the others?" Harry asked Kreacher, crouching down so he was eye level with the elf and Ollivander.
Kreacher shook his head sadly, "No. I hasn't left the attic. I don't knows what wents wrong."
Harry gave him a comforting smile, "Don't worry. It's not your fault; we just under estimated the level of thought Bellatrix put in to keeping people out. We'll be fine…" he said, as firmly as he could, praying it was true.
"Do you thinks you could help Mr Ollivander to he feets?" Kreacher asked.
Harry nodded but frowned, "Yeah I would think so but why?"
"We needs to get outs of here." Kreacher pleaded.
Harry looked at his worriedly, "What about Hermione and Draco?"
Kreacher shook his head, "No Harry. I'm sorrys."
Harry looked back towards the door, "I… we can't just leave them!"
"I'll come back but I needs to get you safety! Miss Lily would die if anything was to happens to you!" Kreacher said, wiping his tear filled eyes.
Harry wanted to argue, but he knew that Kreacher would have more luck sneaking around than he would; he was public enemy number one and well behind enemy lines. Besides, he doubted anyone staying with the Lestranges knew what the house elves looked like.
"Ok… fine." Harry said grumpily.
It wasn't easy to pull Ollivander to his feet. He'd not stood up in months, his limbs were sore and stiff from being stuck in the same position for so long, let alone the brutal treatment he'd suffered.
"I am most sorry Mr Potter." Ollivander said, after having to stop once again as the pain had gotten to intense for him.
"It's OK." Harry said, catching his breath, "We'll get there… just take your time."
It took them over ten minutes to get Ollivander to his feet and reasonably steady. Harry felt his back straining under the prolonged weight of even the slight Ollivander.
Kreacher held tightly to both Harry and Ollivander, completing the triangle, gripping them so tightly Harry would have a bruised wrist for a week.
The three of them landed a few hundred yards down the lane, still in one group, much to their relief.
Ollivander's legs gave way beneath him the moment after they landed, Harry managing to lower him gently-ish to the ground without falling on top of him.
"I am so sorry." Ollivander said, tears rolling down his pale, hollow cheeks.
"It's not your fault." Harry said kindly, "We'll… we'll find somewhere to camp and you can stay with us for a few days, to get your strength up before we find you somewhere safe to stay. It'll be just one more apparition I promise."
Ollivander stared through Harry, giving him a small smile.
"Pst!"
Harry turned around, looking back towards the Manor. He saw a hand stick out of a nearby bush.
"Draco?" Harry asked, making sure Ollivander wouldn't fall over if he moved.
Harry walked quickly to where Draco and Hermione were untangling themselves from where they'd been hidden.
"I can't believe you made it out!" Hermione said happily, throwing her arms around Harry, "I ended up in the kitchens, Draco drew the short straw and got stuck in Bellatrix's bedroom."
"I had to jump into and then climb down a tree! I was not born for such treatment!" Draco protested, "Where did you end up?"
"Kreacher ended up in the attic." Kreacher told them, "Kreacher helped Mr Ollivander, he's really not wells."
"I ended up in Corvus's room, it was easier to get up to the attic than try and work my way down. I thought I might run into one of 'us' up there and I was right." Harry explained, "We all got so lucky not to run into anyone."
"I sort of ran into Rodolphus, the old one," Hermione told them, looking very worriedly at Ollivander who was looking worse and worse by the minute, "I was hidden though, he came down to the kitchens looking for Bellatrix. I don't think things are very happy between them at the moment."
"Things are never happy between them." Draco said, snorting a laugh.
"Anyway," Hermione said, giving Draco a slight glare for interrupting her, "I also met the house elves, or at least four of them. They are dreadfully treated here, in rags and dirty. They are so scared of everyone. We should try and get them freed, or in better homes."
Harry nodded, "I think they'll have to wait, I can't see any way that we would be able to get them freed currently. We'll have to hope that Corvus will have the power sooner rather than later."
"Unlikely." Draco sighed, "Not only would Bellatrix and Rodolphus have to die but so will the child Rodolphus, Gods that is confusing. Note to self, do not name children after ones self."
"Well…" Hermione didn't have it in her to wish out loud for Rodolphus's death, he was still only a child after all, "We should get Ollivander inside."
Kreacher insisted on coming with them, partly to make sure that Ollivander was settled, mostly to try and persuade Harry to come home. He hated them all being apart.
They set up the tent in a very well protected grove of trees and tucked Ollivander in Hermione's bed where he very quickly fell asleep again.
Kreacher helped them cook up enough food to last them a few days, including a very large treacle tart. He managed to hold in his tears until he'd left the wards protecting his Harry. Memories of learning to love the tiny boy that crashed into his home so very long ago swimming through his thoughts. He just hoped he'd get to see Harry come home again.