Unofficial Portkey Archive

Harry Potter and the Infernal Plan Part XI
by Jori

Please forgive the long delay in posting this next part. I had most of it written but could never get back to it. In the past year, I had to find a house and move in a period of two months during which three hurricanes passed through. I moved. Husband couldn't find a job here so he stayed there. Child started new school. Things got crazy with the holidays. My husband got very sick and lost his job but only after going to the hospital for a while. The MPAA decided to send me a nice C&D letter for using their rating system. Husband still didn't find new job and mortgage situation got more desperate on a house I have barely owned. Husband still sick. Oh, I'm sure there's more. Like totaling the car and little things like that. So it was a bad year. I didn't write much. And I apologize to you for that.

***********

"I remember," Harry said as he struggled to get his bearings. The blazing light nearly blinded him and there was no escape from it. He shaded his eyes and waited for the intense pain he had felt the last time he had been here to hit him in his gut but it didn't. It was then that he felt Hermione double over beside him, moaning loudly.

"Harry, what's happening?" Hermione asked in a feeble voice.

"I can't tell you everything now. We have to move. We have to go now!" Harry said, still clutching Hermione's hand tightly. "I know you feel sick but we have to move. Er... Hermione? Where's Ron? What happened to Ron?"

"I couldn't hold on, Harry. He slipped away from me," Hermione said pulling her hand from Harry's. She stared at her fingertips as if that would bring Ron back to them but a wave of sickness passed over her and she had to clutch her stomach. Harry sank to his knees beside her and watched his girlfriend get sick. He fought the urge to turn away but instead helped her tuck her hair out of the way as the sickness rolled over her again and again.

"We have to get out of here, Hermione. We have to run," he said, looking away from her and trying to make anything out in the light.

"But what about Ron? Is he nearby?" Hermione asked. Harry couldn't see his friend anywhere.

"I don't see him. Can you get up?"

"I can't. I can't move," she said, turning to look at him. Tears were streaming down her face and he did his best to wipe them away. He still had his invisibility cloak with him and he hoped that it worked in here because they were going to need it if Hermione didn't start feeling better quickly. "Why aren't you sick?"

"I haven't a clue. Maybe because I was here for so long already. I felt just like you did my first time here," Harry said, looking around to see if they were still alone. There was no one around but he knew that wouldn't last for long. Ella would be back and Harry worried about who she might bring with her. "Did Ron slip away when we were still in that vortex or after?"

"I don't know," Hermione answered and now the tears started up again. "I tried to hold on, Harry. It was like he was sucked away from me."

"We'll find him but right now, we have to go," Harry said and Hermione started to protest again. "I'll carry you if I have to. I've done it before."

"You can't get very far with me," Hermione said. Harry was still searching the area but no longer for Ron. He needed to be able to get her somewhere safe until the sickness passed.

"I could carry you forever if I had to," Harry said, smoothing Hermione's hair away from her face. She looked horrible and he was sorry he had dragged her into this. If he had only remembered. There was no use in worrying about that now. What was done was done. He picked her up as gently as he could and she wrapped her arms around his neck, her face pressed to his chest as she held on tight. He faltered a little but managed to get them both under the invisibility cloak before stumbling in the direction of a thick forest.

"Where are we?" Hermione asked and Harry shook his head.

"Don't know." He really had no idea where they might be. All the paintings fit together seamlessly without being divided by frames like from the outside. It was an amazing world but still an unrecognizable one to him. He did know that without any warning, they could slip into another painting and it might not be as agreeable as this one.

"Where are we going?" she asked, struggling to turn her head in the direction Harry was moving.

"We have to get away from here so we can figure out what to do. It's going to be a while before your stomach feels better and I need to think about how we're going to find Ron and Lupin," Harry said, not telling her the entire story yet. She was going through enough already.

"Put me down! You have to put me down now!" Hermione said, pushing out of his arms. They both toppled to the ground and she was sick again. At least when they were surrounded by the trees, the light was cut in half and he could see. Too bad the only things to see were Hermione vomiting and more oily, painted trees.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked after she stopped. She came to sit beside him against a tree and he pulled the cloak over them again. She was shivering, her body shaking beside his, and guilt began to overwhelm him.

"Not really," she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She smelled horrible but Harry knew it wasn't her fault. No, this was entirely his fault. If only he had remembered any of this before they went leaping through the painting. If only he thought things through before taking action.

"We can rest for a few minutes but we have to move again soon," Harry said, pulling Hermione to his side. He could feel how exhausted she was as she fell limp against him.

"What are we running from?" Hermione asked, her voice raspy now.

"We're running from people like Elladora Black," Harry said and it took a minute for Hermione to recognize the name.

"Ella... the girl in your dreams... is part of the Black family?" Hermione asked.

"Elladora Black. Remember all the house elf heads hanging on the wall at Grimmauld Place?" Harry asked. Hermione's eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open. "Elladora Black started that tradition. That girl... the girl I've been seeing in my dreams and who told me to come back here is a portrait from when she was young."

"And you didn't remember this from the first time you were here?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"No," Harry said angrily, frustrated with himself to no end. "It gets worse."

Hermione closed her eyes, shaking her head. "How is that possible? Ron's gone and you're carrying me through a forest while I can't stop ... ugh..."

"You think Elladora is the only one with a portrait?" Harry asked.

"But, Harry, they're just that... just portraits. How can they hurt us?" Hermione asked.

"Do you think we're the only humans in here?"

"You mean there are more people here besides Lupin and Ron? Why?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes and trying to think it through. Harry didn't have to answer before she came to the reason herself. "To trap you."

"That's why Lupin got me out. He stayed behind to make sure they stayed in here and... and... bloody hell! What have I done?" Harry asked in anger. Hermione placed her hand on his arm and leaned closer to him.

"You did what you always do, Harry. You tried to help a friend," she said.

"I always have to be the hero," he said softly, remembering a time not that long ago. "I always have to run off and save someone."

"Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it has nothing to do with being a hero. Maybe it just has to do with how much you love people. I know that now that we're... you know what I mean. Anyway..." Hermione said, her voice trailing off.

Harry expected a big lecture from her about how they should have planned this more carefully but the lecture never came. Instead, she curled up in his arms and she began to fall asleep. He should rouse her and they should keep moving but in the state she was in, they'd never make it far. They'd have to set out when she was feeling better.

***************

Harry struggled to stay awake. Hermione was sleeping restlessly with her head on his lap and he smoothed his hand over her hair, trying to comfort her whenever she moaned out and held onto her stomach. He fought off sleeping for as long as he could, his wand ready at his side in case someone found them, but soon his eyes couldn't take it anymore. He was exhausted and dreams swept over him and pulled him under...

He was painting and Dudley kept making fun of his work. No matter how realistic it looked, his cousin still mocked him, telling him he'd never escape. Harry smashed up painting after painting but he couldn't get away from his cousin's laughter.

Harry painted a world of scarlet and gold; a world of warm fires and comfortable chairs. Dudley kept up the taunting and finally, when the painting was finished, Harry said the right words and disappeared into his perfect world. There, no one would laugh at him...

Except, someone was laughing.

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked, stirring him from his sleep. "Sounds like a hyena... or a Northern Muldavian Mockfly."

"A what?" Harry asked, sitting up straight and holding his wand tight in his fingers.

"I invented it years ago. When I was seven, I painted one and Mum hung it up. I assume that's how this works? Someone paints something and it can show up here?" Hermione asked.

"So, would you rather face a mockfly or a hyena?" Harry asked. Whatever made the noise was silent now and that worried Harry more. At least when he could hear it, he knew where it was.

"Mockflies were two meters high and had fangs. I hope there aren't any in here," Hermione said.

"So do I."

They both listened for more sounds but this world was unnaturally quiet. There was no wind moving through the trees and the sky above them was seemingly endless. Harry remembered being in a forest the first time he was here but how would he ever know if this was the same forest?

"The people in the portraits can move around with relative ease and speed. There must be some path behind the... walls? The frames? There must be a path that allows it to happen," Hermione said and Harry could sense that she was trying to work this out.

"There are paths and they can pop in and out at will. Humans need to find a portal and hope it's opened," Harry said and Hermione nodded, still thinking.

"Obviously, Lupin knew how to do that or he figured out how to do that and he got you back to Hogwarts. Don't you remember how, Harry?"

Harry thought about it, but as much as he now remembered, the exact words that opened up their way out were lost to him. Or else he couldn't remember something he never knew.

"We need to find Lupin," Harry said, and Hermione agreed. "Can you walk now? Are you feeling better?"

"I think I can. I really could use some water?" Hermione asked, rubbing her throat. Her voice was more hoarse than before.

"We'll have to conjure up something to drink as soon as we can stop longer," Harry said, the invisibility cloak slipping from him when he stood up. It puddled onto Hermione's lap and she closed her eyes momentarily and took a deep breath. Harry put out his hand to her and she took it, struggling to her feet. He picked up the cloak and covered them up. It wasn't going to be easy to move around like this but he didn't want to risk being seen by the wrong people. People who might know exactly where the portal from Hogwarts would bring him.

"Do you know how big this place is?" Hermione asked.

"No."

"Any idea in which direction we might find Lupin?"

"No."

"So, we're going to wander around blindly until we stumble into something... or someone?" Hermione asked and now Harry knew that the lecture was coming for sure. All he could do was ride it out.

*************

The forest seemed to be endless... or else they were walking in circles. He was sure he had seen the tree-covered hill they were approaching once or twice before but Hermione was positive that it was the first time they had come upon it.

"Perhaps if we go to the top of it, we'll be able to see further," Hermione suggested halfheartedly. They were both growing tired and finally gave up trying to stay under the invisibility cloak, emerging covered in sweat. Harry smiled at the memory of things they had done under this cloak but the thought was fleeting. That world -- the real world -- seemed so far away now. And so much smaller than this one.

"Will you be able to make it?" Harry asked.

"If we take a break at the top, I should be able to. I'll conjure up a drink as soon as we stop," Hermione said, taking in a deep breath as they walked onwards.

Water sounded good. They hadn't even passed any painted, oily water since they got here. The artist who made this part of the painting certainly lacked imagination or else couldn't paint water. Just trees. More and more trees.

Hermione babbled on about one theory and then the next as they climbed, her mind racing though all the ways this world could be opened up again. Her voice was nearly gone when they reached the top and she had just begun talking about where they should begin looking for Ron.

"He could be at Hogwarts for all we know, Hermione," Harry said, stopping now to look over the vast landscape. She gasped, turning around to look at everything from all directions.

"Naturally, we would assume that this world would curve like our own. The horizon would fade off and disappear and we'd never catch up to it. We could keep walking and walking but here... it's flat," Hermione said. "Do you know what kind of essay I could turn in about this place? Never mind that. We could map this place and study it. We could--"

"Get caught by Voldemort and murdered where we're standing," Harry added and she stopped talking. They hadn't mentioned it before but Harry wouldn't be surprised if he was somehow behind this. If this wasn't his planning, then he surely knew by now about Harry's first trip into here. He would have been an easy target and now he was back and he had brought another target with him. He couldn't believe how stupid he was.

"What's that over there?" she asked after they looked around in silence for several minutes. Off in the distance, an inky curl of smoke made its way toward the endless sky. If he squinted and blocked the light from his eyes, Harry could make out a small village.

"We can go in that direction and see if we can find a place to rest until you're feeling better. We can't stay in one place too long, though," Harry said, taking Hermione's hand and helping her down the sloping hill.

"How do we get to another painting? So far, we've been inside this one the whole time we've been here. Where is the next one?" Hermione asked.

"It will just happen. You'll take a step and all of a sudden, there you are. That's one of the reasons this would be impossible to map," Harry said as they wove their way through the trees.

"Not impossible, just difficult. Nothing is impossible, Harry."

"Passing Potions this year after all that classes I've missed.... that's impossible," Harry said and for the first time in hours, he heard Hermione laugh a little.

"You know I'll help you. I always do."

"That won't be very easy for you to do if we never get out of here. You won't make very high marks either if you aren't there," Harry teased and Hermione's expression fell flat.

"I'm sure we'll be allowed to make up our work once we find Lupin and get out of here. We always have been in the past," she said, suddenly more thoughtful than before.

"Hermione, you are the most talented witch to pass through Hogwarts' doors in ages. I'm sure you will do just fine. I'm the one who has now missed most of this term," Harry said, sighing.

"We'll both have to catch up together," Hermione said. "But first, we have to get back to Hogwarts since you didn't give me enough time to gather up my books."

Hermione was serious about her books and Harry was amused by her and her need to study even in the most desperate of situations.

"The good news is I have my wand. At least this time, I'm prepared," he said. Only, he wasn't quite sure for what he had to be prepared.

***************

It was a fairly small village; just a few rustic houses around a central fountain from which cobalt colored 'water' flowed. Harry was pleased that there were no inhabitants because he wasn't ready to explain how he and Hermione had arrived at this place. For now, all he wanted to do was rest and consider what they were going to do next.

They chose an abandoned looking house and Harry pushed the creaky door open, his wand before him as he took Hermione by the hand. Her eyes were still adjusting to the changing brightness and he didn't want her to stumble over anything.

Dust danced around their feet and filled the air, making Harry cough. Hermione didn't seem to notice as she continued chatting away about how all this needed to be documented and studied and how it was simply amazing. Harry had felt the same way the first time he was trapped in this place but now he'd rather settle for a different kind of amazing. More of a Hogwarts kind of amazing. Too bad he didn't think of that before rushing back here.

"Here, have a seat. I'm going to look around. Don't wander anywhere, Hermione. There's always the chance of slipping into another painting. I'd never find you back," Harry said. Hermione sat down on a couch that might have been red at one time a plume of dust flew up around her, making her cough.

"What about you? What if you slip into another painting?" she asked, sounding rather concerned.

"I won't," he said, trying to reassure her of something he wasn't completely positive wouldn't happen. He knew all too well how it worked and was just a little surprised they hadn't slipped from this place already.

"Harry? Please stay," Hermione said, reaching out her hand to him.

"Hermione..." he started to protest but she patted her other hand on the cushion beside her and a cloud of dust rose up in the spot.

"Stay," she said one more time and he did, sitting down next to her. "This world is amazing."

"Yeah," Harry said, clearly not as amazed as she was.

"Why is one thing dusty while the next thing is wet? Is it because of the artist's imagination? How could he think of everything like the details inside a house that one can't see on the canvas? It's just fascinating," she said, carrying on more and more.

"Is this why you wanted me to stay? So we could discuss this place?" Harry asked, aggravated. He knew about this place and the dangers that could be found just around the next corner.

"No. Well, yes. I can't believe someone like Drew could comprehend this place so well," Hermione said and Harry let out a heavy sigh.

"He had his father's help. Come to think of it, he had his father's help for a lot of things. I'm sure we're bound to run into them sooner or later since this is where I last saw them," Harry said. Hermione wrinkled up her nose at the thought.

"We will have to figure out what to do. Harry, despite what you think, you're a fine wizard. You can defeat most anything or anyone," Hermione said, wrapping her arm around Harry's and pulling him near.

"Most?" He hadn't missed that.

"Not most. You can defeat anything that might be in here. Together, we're even more powerful," she said.

Right now he didn't feel very powerful at all. He felt weary and lost. He felt like disappearing into one of these worlds and hoping no one ever found them. They could just have a life together here. They could do it and he would be happy.

"Hermione, I love you," he said, his voice shaky with exhaustion. "We need some rest and we'll work this problem out. We'll put together a plan. I know we'll get out of here."

He kissed her on her cheek and she moved so that she could settle into his arms. Harry had no idea what he would do without her. Her love made all of this bearable. It made it so he didn't want to just give up and die.

***********

After he went exploring (finding nothing of value or interest except a bag in which to carry his cloak) and they rested for a while, Harry and Hermione set off again. Since she was feeling better, Hermione could now keep up with Harry's pace and only stopped every fifty meters or so to look at something new. To her, this was just like when they started Hogwarts. There was something new around every corner. Only this time, she didn't have a history book to quote from. This time, they had to make it up as they went alone.

None of this was familiar to Harry and he had no idea where they were headed, but he couldn't sit still and wait. There were brief moments, while she slept in his arms, he realized he could just stop searching for the escape and spend every day for the rest of his life right here with Hermione. He also know that wasn't really an option. Not yet. Not until they had exhausted all their options for finding Lupin and getting out of here again.

Hermione reached for his hand and meshed her fingers with his. They walked side by side for the longest time, discussing the various properties of magic and physics that had to combine to create this place. Harry listened and added a few comments but all the while, his eyes searched around them, making sure they weren't being followed or approached from the woods surrounding them.

"What if we never find anything? Or a way out? And what if Professor Dumbledore can't help us?" Hermione asked, swinging his hand in hers. "You have thought of it, haven't you?"

"No," he lied. "The last time I was in here, I found... her. Lupin found me. I'm sure we're going to run into something--"

The words weren't even out of his mouth and Harry felt something pulling at him. It was as if his whole form was changing -- melting, really -- and he gripped Hermione's hand tighter, pulling her towards him.

"Hold on!" he said, knowing exactly what was happening. They slipped through a vortex, one far more gentle than the one they passed through between Hogwarts and here, and suddenly, they were somewhere else. Hermione was in his arms and this was a good thing because they didn't look so out of place that way.

"Oh, my!" was all Hermione could say.

They were in a massive ballroom, surrounded by witches and wizards wearing their finest dress robes in every color imaginable. The room was gilded in gold and Harry realized the artist probably used gold while painting because he couldn't imagine how else he would have gotten it to sparkle like that. And it was a painting of a rather fancy ball. Candles filled the air as did rather lively music.

No one seemed to have noticed them or their sudden entry but Hermione pulled his arms around her anyway so it looked like they were dancing like everyone else and they went with the gentle swirl of the crowd.

"This is interesting. Have you ever seen this paining at Hogwarts before? I thought I saw all of them but I don't recognize this," Harry said.

"No, I don't remember it."

Hermione winced when he stepped on her toes but kept on dancing.

It wasn't long before someone noticed them and their lack of formal attire. "I say, the least you could do is get your girl a proper gown and robes, young man," an elderly wizard said to Harry as they passed by. He was wearing bright purple while the woman he was dancing with was dressed in a hideous shade of orange.

"Thanks," Harry said with a shrug.

"What are we going to do? Do you see a way out of here?" Hermione asked, standing on her toes long enough to see over the crowd. Or to keep Harry from stepping on them again.

"There's a staircase over there but I have no idea where it might lead. I can't see any doors," he said, working it so they were getting closer to the outside of the crowd. They passed a large orchestra and then passed people sitting stiffly in formal chairs watching the dancers go by.

"I'd hate to have to do this forever," Hermione said. both of them struggling to keep up.

"Maybe they rest when the lights are turned off where the painting is hanging. Or maybe they never stop," Harry said, watching to see when they were drawing close to the grand staircase. As soon as they were in front of it, they pulled free from the dancing crowd and started to climb the steps, still holding hands just in case.

"Now what?" Hermione asked. When they had reached the top of the long staircase, they found a seemingly endless hallway lined with doors. Hundreds of doors. They were all the same, white with gold trim and gold handles. They could end up anywhere just by opening one.

Harry turned around and looked at the dance going on and was sure this was their only way out. All the walls of the ballroom appeared to be solid . Then he faced the doors again. No one was coming in or out of any of them. Pulling his wand out of his back pocket, he held it in front of him, prepared for anything. Hermione did the same and they walked down the hallway.

"Which door should we try first. Right or left side of the hall?" she asked, stepping close to the first one on her left.

"Go ahead and open it," Harry said, unsure that any other door would be a better option. Hermione put her hand on the knob and briefly pulled it away.

"It feels funny," she said, grabbing the knob again and twisting it. Harry quickly grasped onto her arm just in case this led them somewhere else. It didn't. All that was behind the door was a dark, empty room. There was no furniture. No windows. It was as if the artist hadn't even considered what might be in the room. "What if they're all like this?"

"We'll have to find another way, then," Harry said. He tried the next doorknob while Hermione held onto his sleeve. She was right -- the doorknob did feel funny. It tingled in Harry's hand and he wasn't sure what that meant.

"Nothing here," he said, going onto the next. They kept it up for nearly an hour and the hallway seemed to be growing. Door after door yielded nothing. They would walk into the dark rooms only to find it led nowhere, not even as a portal to some other painting.

"We could go back and dance," Hermione suggested, smiling ever so slightly. Harry tried another door and shook his head.

"No more dancing, please."

"It wasn't that bad," Hermione said. "Besides, I'm the one who was getting stepped on."

"All the more reason to not go back and dance," Harry said. He grabbed another doorknob and Hermione put a hand on his shoulder. This doorknob felt different. It didn't tingle. He grasped his wand and looked at Hermione. She must have sensed something because her wand was held up high in her free hand.

"Should we skip this door?"

"What if it's the one we need? What if it leads us back? Or to Ron?"

"What if it doesn't?" Hermione asked. They both thought about it for a second before deciding. "You're right. Open it."

Harry opened the door and immediately regretted his decision. He tried to pull it shut but it wouldn't move. He tried to say something... anything... but the words wouldn't come out his mouth. One of the figures in the room had no problem speaking at all.

"How nice of you to finally join us, Potter. We've been waiting for you."

*************

To Be Continued....