Chapter 18: Avada kadavra

It hadn't taken long after Moody's abrupt departure for Kingsley to lose his nerve. His adrenaline was pumping making it impossible to sit still and so that man had started pacing. This was his usual routine during times when he was most stressed and this was certainly one of those times. This habit had made a worn track appear on the old rug that he had put on the floor of his office just a few months prior.

But there wasn't a rug here and this wasn't his office.

The auror paused as his pacing once again took him past Dumbledore's large desk. The Griffis map still lay spread out across the flat surface. Kingsley sighed heavily as he counted the number of red dots. Another one of his aurors was down. He didn't understand how backup hadn't yet shown up. It had been, what? Half an hour already? He had called in the emergency right after Moody had left. During the firecall, Berthilde had promised that she would send all available aurors to Dufftown, however, none had arrived.

After this, Kingsley had contemplated contacting the order, but, in the end, he decided against it. Most of the order members who were aurors would already be aware of the situation. Besides, he didn't want any non-auror order member showing up in the middle of a battle.

No. What he really needed at this moment was for Dumbledore to show back up. He had no idea what the blasted man was doing, but he was growing increasingly desperate and annoyed. On several occasions, he had contemplated leaving to try and track down the headmaster, but he knew that he needed to stay put and keep track of any changes. He was sure that Dumbledore would show up eventually…he just hoped that eventually wouldn't be too late.

The auror smiled grimly as he watched one of the many black marks get hit by a spell and vanish. Good. One less death eater. But even he knew that it was too little too late.

"Where the bloody hell are you?" Kingsley hissed resuming his pacing.

He wasn't sure if he was talking about the backup aurors or Dumbledore…or maybe both. At this point, it didn't really matter to him which happened first. He just needed someone to show up in one of the two locations. Hell, he would even take Severus's depressing presence.

As Kingsley passed by the large desk once again, he jerked to a sudden stop, noticing that all flashes of spells had suddenly stopped. Both aurors and death eaters were still present, but neither seemed to be fighting each other.

That was when Kingsley noticed a small purple dot that had appeared in between both warring parties.

"Shit."

What was a civilian doing in the middle of a battlefield and how had they managed to stop the fighting? Kingsley cursed louder, once again wishing that Dumbledore would come back so he could portkey out there and actually see what was happening. He was tired of guessing. He wanted to know who it was that had managed to get past the anti-apparation wards. But, more importantly, he wanted to know why the death eaters were not firing at the lone figure…why neither side was.

Was it someone important? Someone both sides were afraid of? Someone like…

"Dumbledore," Kingsley breathed, "So that's why the blasted man hasn't come back."

The auror's hands tightened into fists at his side. Now what was he going to do? Had everyone just forgotten about him?

As Kingsley stood seething, his attention was caught by a bright flash that left one of the wands of the death eaters. His breath seemed to stop in his throat as the spell hit the lone figure, killing whoever it was in an instant.

"Surely that couldn't've been Dumbledore, then," the auror muttered, face pale, "Surely it was someone else."

This added stress was quickly bringing Kingsley to his limit. The auror was going insane at the lack of information he was able to receive. He growled with pent-up frustration and anxiety and reached for his wand.

Fine. If Dumbledore wasn't going to open up the floo network for him, then he would do it himself. Surely it couldn't be that difficult to figure out. The auror glared at the figures on the map. He swore that he would hex Moody when he saw that stupid man next.

However, Kingsley's anger was quickly replaced with shock when there was a series of blue flashes that flickered across the area. When the lights faded, the mass of death eaters had suddenly vanished, leaving a dozen or so aurors behind.

What the hell? Was the battle over? Had the death eaters been scared away by something?

Kingsley held his breath. He was half-afraid that the black dots would suddenly appear elsewhere on the map or that the auror lights would all be extinguished by some seen force.

But nothing happened.

The red dots had now begun to move around and several even vanished in their own flashes of blue. Kingsley was now even more confused. This meant that the anti-apparation charms were down, apparently having vanished along with the Death Eaters.

Kingsley swore quietly under his breath. He needed to be there with his men. With Dawlish gone, they would be looking to him for orders. And, yet, here he was stuck in a school.

But not for much longer, the auror thought, a plan already forming in his mind.

He turned to storm over to Dumbledore's large fireplace but froze as he saw a brilliant flash of green light up the cold hearth. A second later, two figures fell out onto the floor before the flames vanished as quickly as they had come.

Someone had just flooed in.

Kingsley instantly had his wand pointed at whoever had just entered the room. He would figure out how they had just done that after he knew who they were and if they were a threat. Both figures were dressed in heavy winter cloaks. One, a foreboding black, and the other, a familiar reddish colour… Kingsley's gaze snapped up to the face of the auror who was now struggling to his feet, coughing heavily.

"Black?"

Sirius looked around, as he heard his name. The man's posture instantly relaxed as he saw who had just spoken.

"Fuck, Kingsley. It's all gone wrong. They got 'im. I couldn't stop them."

"Got who? Who did they get?"

An image of Dumbledore lying dead in the middle of a street crossed Kingsley's mind in a flash.

"James," Sirius croaked out stumbling backwards toward the fireplace, "Gotta go back and get 'im. Can't leave 'im there. Not with them."

The man was obviously in a state of panic, meaning that Kingsley was having a hard time understanding the auror enough to fully grasp the situation.

"Black, stop for one goddamn minute and tell me what the hell is going on," Kingsley knew that Sirius was in no state to be yelled at, but he just needed to make the auror stop before he ran off, back to Dufftown, "The Death Eaters left and the others will take care of James."

"No, they can't! He's back with You-know-who. I think he might've killed him, but I have to go back and see. I won't leave him there."

Kingsley was getting nowhere with the obviously distraught man. He felt his own anxiety rise again as he watched Sirius grab a handful of floo powder and stumble into the fireplace, continuing to ignore his calls. The man dropped the powder and yelled,

"Riddle Manor! Dark Servant's Chambers!"

What the hell?

Nothing happened. The green powder just lay on the top of Sirius's boots.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck. No," the auror gasped, reaching for the jar to try again.

But this time, Kingsley was there to stop him.

"Black. Listen to me. You're injured and you're in no fit state to go flooing anywhere, least of all to that dark place. Besides, Dumbledore blocked the floo network to the castle. Don't you remember? I don't even know how you got here in the first place."

Sirius opened his mouth as if to protest, but was cut off by a soft groan from behind them. This seemed to snap the auror out of his hysterical state. Instead of panic, something dangerous seemed to flash across the man's face. Sirius pushed past him, heading straight toward the black lump of cloth on the ground. Kingsley watched in shock as the auror reached down and grabbed the figure's shoulder. There was another soft groan as Sirius rolled the man over onto his back…and that was when Kingsley saw it…a blood-splattered and cracked Death Eater mask.

Sirius had brought a death eater into Hogwarts with him.

In an instant, Kingsley had his wand pointed at the, obviously, injured figure. His left hand was already reaching into his robes to pull out PSMI. He didn't know if the Death Eater was capable of doing magic at this point, but he wasn't going to risk it.

Leave it up to Sirius Black to be the first person to manage to bring a death eater in alive and to a fucking school of all places.

In front of him, the auror had sunk to his knees on top of the figure. Sirius had his wand already out, digging into the death eater's chest.

"You fucking prick. Tell me how to get back. Tell me or I'll kill you right now."

Sirius's voice was low and dangerous. Kingsley felt a flicker of worry pass through his mind, but he banished it. He corrected his grip on the handle of his wand and waited. He wanted to see what the death eater would say he was forced to step in and take care of the situation.

"Get. Off. Me."

The sound of the dark wizard's snarling voice sent all of the blood rushing away from Kingsley's face. He had heard that voice before…just earlier that week when he had been attacked by…

"Black, what the hell did you do?"

Sirius looked over at him, seeming to have forgotten that he was in the room at all. A dark frown was plastered across the man's face,

"This little shit called his fucking father to come and rescue him. He's the reason that James is probably already dead. If I had got to the floo sooner than maybe we-"

Kingsley cut the man off,

"Wait. Are you telling me that you and Potter found and broke into Riddle Manor during the fight? You were actually in the manor?"

Sirius glared down at the figure who was squirming under him, in obvious pain,

"Yes, and that's where we found this shit before he went and messed it all up."

Kingsley felt as if his entire world was collapsing around him. They had actually found Riddle Manor and they had managed to capture You-know-who's son…and James was still back with the Death Eaters.

Harry was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe with the weight of a full-grown auror pressing down on his chest. Every time he tried to take in air his ribs would protest at the downward pressure the man was exerting. On top of that, his head was continuing to pound angrily and his scar had also started to prickle uncomfortably.

The only thing that was keeping him alert at that moment was the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He knew that it was also working to dull the pain, but it wasn't doing him any other good in his current shitty situation. He had no idea where Black had dragged him off to, but from the little bit of the room that he could see, he knew that it couldn't be anywhere good. Knowing his luck he was probably already in the intake chamber of Azkaban.

Harry groaned as the crushing weight on his chest shifted.

He could hear people talking around him, but he couldn't bring himself to focus on what they were saying. All of his energy and concentration was currently focused on trying to breathe.

Then, the weight was suddenly gone.

Harry gasped as he gulped in air, his ribs screaming in protest as his chest heaved. The ringing in his ears began to recede and his vision cleared. The young wizard blinked heavily trying to make out what was above him. All he currently knew was that he was lying on his back in a surprisingly warm room and somewhere nearby were loud voices.

"Call whoever you want to. I don't give a shit. I'm going back for James."

"Are you an idiot? You'll be killed on the spot. Besides, you don't even know how to get back. That place is under powerful protection charms. Frankly, it's a miracle that you managed to get out in the first place."

The voices sounded familiar to Harry.

"I know what I'm risking, Kingsley. But I can't just leave him there I have to try something."

"At least wait for Dumbledore then."

The name sent a shockwave of fear running through Harry's limbs.

Fuck. The aurors were calling in Dumbledore?

This realisation came with the countless horrible things that his father had told him about the old wizard over the years. He needed to find a way out of there before that man showed up. As soon as that happened, he knew it would be all over for him. He might've been able to fight off Dumbledore, but in order to do that he needed his magic.

Harry gritted his teeth and slowly rolled onto his side, praying no one would notice him. His head and ribs screamed at him, but he pushed away the pain.

Once on his right side, Harry could now see more of the room that he was being held in. It was lavishly decorated with portraits covering almost every inch of the walls. A thick rug sat under a huge desk in the centre of the room. Beyond that, Harry could just make out a door. But in between him and that door, stood two aurors. Harry dragged his gaze up and had to choke back a curse.

Shacklebolt and Black.

The two men were deep in conversation and didn't appear to have noticed his movement yet. That was, at least, one good thing. This would give him time to assess his situation and form a plan. Escape through the door would be near impossible and stupid. He wanted to get out of his current spot, not wander deeper into the ministry. That left the floo. He knew that it had to be somewhere behind him. If he could just make it over to the fireplace without being noticed then maybe-

"Don't even think about it," Harry glanced up and saw Kingsley's angry face staring down at him, "The floo network here is cut off so even if you managed to get yourself over there without being stunned, you'd have nowhere to go."

The teen bit his lip to keep from spitting a curse at the man. He needed to try and keep his cool. His father had trained him for every situation. He would be able to get out of this…

He trained you in curses to use in every situation, the voice in the back of his head provided, He didn't train you for what to do when you don't have any magic.

Harry glared up at the two aurors, trying to put as much anger as he could into the look. Much to his disappointment, neither of the two men seemed fazed.

"You will let me go," Harry hissed even as his scar gave a sharp throb, "You have no idea what my father will do to you when he comes to get me. You will burn."

Kingsley simply raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think that you fully understand your current predicament," the auror said carefully, "You are now in the custody of the Ministry of Magic. There is a warrant out for your arrest. You have no authority here, even though you think you do."

Harry growled and began to push himself up, his arms shaking slightly underneath him. He didn't get very far, however. As soon as he started to move, he found the tip of a wand pointed at his chest.

"You will stay where you are," it was Kingsley's turn to growl.

"Or what?" Harry spat, "You'll jinx me? Maybe cast a stunner? I'm not scared of your childish spells."

Harry smirked as he saw Kingsley's grip on his wand tighten. Good. He was getting under the auror's skin.

"No," the man said coldly, "I will paralyse you, maybe even by permanently breaking your spine. Then you won't be able to do anything but watch as the dementors come to get you."

This made the teen freeze. Harry felt his arms go weak at the threat of being unable to move, trapped in his own body. This thought scared him more than he would ever admit.

Kingsley smiled down at the kneeling boy, seeming pleased with himself.

"Now, how about we all just calm down while we wait? There are some people who will be very excited to meet you…Harry."

Under his mask, the teen went deathly pale.